Mu Ran's original plan was straightforward: use the Fifth Prince to distract Yan Junyu, then strike when Qi Ze was alone. As a fellow psychic mutant, he understood that the latter, no matter how formidable, would never match a psionic in raw power. Confronted by nine mechs in a pincer, it was nearly impossible to survive unless a miracle happened.
Li Ziqian's appearance was unexpected, but it didn't deter the original plan. An invalid unable to even take care of himself, how could he possibly protect others? To prepare for this ambush, he spent a full two months and meticulously selected nine high-performance mechs. In his estimation, Qi Ze would be reduced to dust. Yet, the truth was far from it. He had to admit that despite acknowledging Qi Ze's existence, he still underestimated his strength. In a mere half-month, he managed to transform a D4 mech into a quasi-psionic mech without altering its exterior, an uncanny feat.
Could he have achieved the same if it was him? Mu Ran shook his head inwardly, his apprehension deepening. This time, he failed to kill Qi Ze, and the other party, no fool, could certainly guess who was behind it. Thus, a silent war had begun, and who would end up killing whom would depend solely on their abilities.
Amidst his thoughts, Xu Qi arrived on the scene with several investigators and detection devices. The head of the Li family and Li's mother also hurriedly came, their eyes red with relief seeing their unharmed son. Witnessing their son in danger through the live broadcast, they nearly fainted from fear, making them even more grateful to Master Qi's selfless intervention. Not only was he young and capable, but his character was also excellent, a true blessing for their son! No wonder their son said himself that meeting the Master had exhausted all the luck he had accumulated over several lifetimes!
"Master, thank you so much!" Li's mother was on the verge of kneeling in gratitude before the young man, but the sight of the recording device overhead made her restrain herself, not out of concern for her dignity, but for fear of offending the Master.
The head of the Li family also expressed his thanks, then turned to Xu Qi, "I saw clearly that those nine mechs targeted my son. Our First Legion also demands to join the investigation team!"
"If you can guarantee that your investigators are not moles and won't take the opportunity to wipe out evidence, I have no objection." Xu Qi lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag. He had just heard from the technicians that there was no sign of a hacker breaching the control systems of the nine mechs, no remote control devices either, therefore the cause of their malfunction was still uncertain. The nine graduates were already in custody and undergoing interrogation. From the preliminary testimony, none seemed to be suspects.
This was the umpteenth unsolved case this year, and Xu Qi could barely recall. The intense sense of defeat made him consider resigning from his post as head of Military Intelligence.
The head of the Li family was taken aback by his words, then, with a grim face, conceded, "In that case, never mind. I trust General Xu's capabilities."
"No, you should reconsider. I'm not even convinced of myself," Xu Qi slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression incredibly weary, from a prodigy who displayed outstanding talent from a young age to someone who had lost his pride under the repeated blows of unsolved cases.
"Uncle Xu, how is the investigation going?" Yan Junyu approached, noticing Li's mother tightly hugging Qi Ze and discreetly separating the two.
"Ongoing. As parties involved, you should go provide your testimonies." Xu Qi slightly waved his hand and led the way backstage.
Everyone at the scene would undergo a thorough investigation, and the batch of graduates was under particular suspicion. They were separately confined in small cubicles, undergoing interrogation by professional interrogators. Qi Ze was soon separated from Yan Junyu and the Young Master of the Li family, leading him to an empty conference room.
At the center of the conference room was a large circular table, surrounded by neatly arranged red chairs. Without hesitation, Qi Ze walked straight to the head position, sitting down with his hands interlocked, resting on his knees. His eyes fixed on a point, but without focus, his expression calm and composed.
"Taking the head position right away, this is an extremely confident or self-centered person," an analyst commented.
"Retrieve the previous interrogation video." Xu Qi's heart stirred slightly.
This was a surveillance room, the wall facing the door was made of a holographic screen, each suspect occupying a small square on the screen, with dedicated intelligence personnel analyzing their every move. Qi Ze's square displayed some static before the footage switched, changing from the spacious conference room to a cramped room...
The analyst watched the video carefully, his expression very astonished.
"This was the first time Qi Ze dealt with our Military Intelligence division, the location was Seaking Star, and the event was the disappearance of Junyu. Notice anything?" Xu Qi sneered.
"The first time he was pretending, but without the current video for comparison, I would have been unable to detect any traces of pretense. His expressions, movements, heart rate, pulse, all perfectly matched the persona he wanted to portray. Look at the sweat on his forehead and the fear in his eyes, they were genuinely there." The analyst questioned his professional skills.
Xu Qi rewound the video and watched it repeatedly, gritting his teeth, "Damn, we were fooled by this kid back then! Why did he join the manufacturing department? He would have had a brighter future in the acting department. With that acting skills, our Military Intelligence division could immediately grant him an Oscar for Best Actor!"
"But even if he was pretending back then, it shouldn't be related to the Young Master's disappearance, right? During the Young Master's disappearance, he didn't even leave the school grounds, and the person was found in the forest." The intelligence personnel tried to justify their own negligence. Even if they misjudged him, they didn't miss any suspects, did they?
"Who knows if he had anything to do with it." Xu Qi lit another cigarette, sighing, "An eighteen-year-old ninth-grade mech manufacturer, with such abilities, what can't he do? Rewind the video, let me watch it again. Damn, I don't believe I can't find any flaws!"
Naturally, Xu Qi wouldn't forget to monitor Qi Ze's current performance, asking the analyst to open a separate holographic screen, specifically to "attend" to Qi Ze. When Yan Junyu finished his interrogation and arrived in the surveillance room, his gaze was frozen in place. He asked in a daze, "Where did this video come from?"
"When you were missing on Seaking Star, Qi Ze and Ouyang Ye were the first to find your mech, we interrogated him according to procedures." Xu Qi, while blowing out smoke, spoke with a sense of defeat, "How about it? The acting isn't bad, right? No one in the team I led at the time noticed anything unusual."
"Very good." Yan Junyu stared for a long time before retracting his focused gaze. This video brought him an extraordinary sense of familiarity, watching from the surveillance room, but the perspective appearing in his mind was completely different, as if he was personally there, close at hand.
"Qi Ze isn't a suspect, you have no right to detain him. Call someone to take his testimony immediately, I want to take him home." Shrugging off the strange feeling, Yan Junyu sternly ordered.
"He's so good at pretending, it's hard to say if he's a suspect. What if he hired someone to assassinate the Young Master of the Li family and pretended to be a victim himself?" Xu Qi wasn't willing to let this little liar off easily, so he casually made up an excuse.
"Watch his footage during the attack, and you'll know he couldn't have been pretending." Yan Junyu retrieved the online video, taking consecutive screenshots, coldly saying, "Here, here, here, he was nearly blown to pieces several times, barely escaping thanks to Meng Kui's protection. And he's a carbon-based lifeform, extremely fragile. Forget about the particle cannon, even a stone splashing out of the crater could kill him. Why would he take such risks? If he wanted to kill the Young Master of the Li family, why did he end up shielding him from the cannon fire? Under such intense artillery fire, he couldn't even see my movements, he couldn't have known I would come to save him. If you suspect him, does that mean the person who saved him, me, is also a suspect? Are the two of us colluding to commit a crime?"
He paused, sighing, "Uncle Xu, you've really aged. Such an idiotic conclusion, I don't understand how you could have reached it." There were too many unrelated people in the surveillance room, so he couldn't accurately pinpoint the true culprit, but he knew that Mu Ran was behind this.
Without a doubt, this was a meticulously planned assassination, the target was not Li Ziqian, but Qi Ze. How could Uncle Xu mistake the real victim for the perpetrator?
Xu Qi coughed, embarrassed, "Why are you being so serious? I was just joking. I didn't want to lock him up, it was the Old Man's instructions. If you want to protest, go to the Old Man!"
"Grandfather wants to..." Yan Junyu didn't finish his sentence as Old Master Yan and Second Uncle entered, striding in and sitting in the head position, loudly saying, "Let's start."
"Alright, Marshal." Xu Qi promptly retrieved the previous battle video, allowing the two to watch.
The footage started from the moment the silver and black mechs stepped onto the arena. Second Uncle Yan watched very seriously, but Old Master Yan cheerfully chatted with his grandson, "Come, Junyu, come sit with Grandfather. Tell me, how did Qi Ze modify that mech?"
"I only visited twice, I'm not familiar with the process." Yan Junyu shook his head.
"You were already inside the mech and even controlled it to achieve victory, how could you not understand the situation at all?" Old Master Yan did not believe him.
"I really didn't understand." Yan Junyu subconsciously protected Qi Ze.
"Good boy, you're loyal!" Old Master Yan didn't believe his nonsense, but did not pressure him further. He worried that his grandson lacked adaptability, but would never cultivate him into a person devoid of moral principles.
"Second son, open your eyes and watch carefully. A modification of this level, could you have done it?" He turned to look at his second son.
Yan Zhongkui remained silent, tapping on the virtual keyboard, retrieving many analysis data. Carefully and meticulously watching for dozens of minutes, he said in disbelief, "The data shows that at the start of the battle, Junyu wasn't intentionally holding back, his mech could indeed only reach that level. Without the subsequent incident, I would have thought that this mech was factory-installed, having undergone no modification except for the paint job."
"Therefore," he pondered, "This indicates that this mech has two combat modes, one is the normal mode, and the other is the berserk mode. Is that right, Junyu?"
Yan Junyu looked at the sky.
Yan Zhongkui smiled unconcernedly, continuing, "To switch between the two modes, you need two energy systems, one with ordinary power output, and the other with super-powered output. And the control system only needs one, but this one must have an incredibly high load rate, allowing the machine to operate at several thousand or even tens of thousands of times the normal power output."
At this point, he sighed, "It sounds simple, but it's by no means easy to modify. The first issue to solve is the energy compartment problem. Why are super-powered mechs much larger than ordinary mechs? Apart from the reason of carrying large-scale weapons, there is also the issue of the energy compartment's volume. Ordinary compressed energy compartments cannot provide sufficient energy for super-powered mechs, so they must be replaced with pulse reactors. A single pulse reactor weighs at least one ton and is massive in size."
He quickly listed a formula, explaining in detail, "To bear the weight of the pulse energy compartment, the mech must be built taller and larger. Look at the various ratios of super-powered mechs and the various ratios of D-type mechs, you'll understand how unrealistic it is to modify a pulse energy compartment onto a D-type mech. Even if you reluctantly modify it, the two slender legs of this mech would immediately be crushed."
"Then there's the issue of the control system. The control system is mainly composed of various lines, like nerves and blood vessels in a human body, densely spread throughout the mech. The main lines of ordinary mechs are optical fibers, while those of super-powered mechs are formed by the psychic energy of the mech manufacturer, threading psychic filaments into the optical fibers. The finer and denser the filaments, the faster the mech's response speed, and the greater the load capacity. Empowering an optical fiber with psychic energy, I don't know how long it takes for other mech masters, but it takes me five or six days, and there are at least tens of thousands of cables in a mech, and tens of thousands of optical fibers in each cable."
He threw away the electronic pen, speaking solemnly, "Calculate for yourselves, these two modifications alone, how long would they take in total?"
"But this student Qi Ze spent only half a month, right? And this doesn't even include the time spent on painting, disassembling, and assembling the mech." Old Master Yan, while scratching his head, looked at his grandson, sighing, "The young generation is formidable!"
"Indeed, the young generation is formidable! When you asked me to be his teacher, looking at him now, he could be my teacher instead!" Yan Zhongkui also stared at his nephew with intense focus.
Yan Junyu folded his arms, staring straight ahead, seemingly not hearing the two of them speaking at all.
Old Master Yan exchanged a look with Second Uncle, the two continued watching the video.
Li Ziqian was the first to notice something was amiss and ordered Meng Kui to retreat. Just as the three of them fled to the edge of the ring, they were attacked by nine mechs. The pitch-black mech sensed something strange, the laser beam in his hand instantly turning from red to icy blue, slicing open a pulse cannon, and while flying off the stage, opened the chest plate, firing a particle cannon at the silver mech.
The two particle cannons on the chest were standard equipment for D-type mechs, not too powerful or weak, suitable for close-range street battles. But coming from this mech, the power was astonishing, not only blasting off the silver mech's legs, but the shock wave that spread out also damaged the mech's energy system, causing it to instantly enter a shutdown state, turning the ring into a huge circular crater.
Yan Zhongkui affirmed, "This is the second combat mode, let's call it the berserk mode. Look," he rewound the video, pointing to the laser sword, "Not only did the power of the particle cannon match that of the pulse cannon, the laser sword also received an upgrade. Do you know why the laser sword was abandoned by the military?"
"It's too weak." Xu Qi answered.
"No," Yan Zhongkui shook his head, "You probably don't know, the last super-powered mech that Mu Feixing was going to build was going to be armed with a laser sword, named Yaoguang."
"Where did this Yaoguang come from? Why haven't I heard of it?" Xu Qi was full of confusion.
"Preparation to build, but there wasn't enough time." Yan Zhongkui retrieved many confidential documents from the Mu Research Institute, naturally knowing these secrets. He continued, "The laser sword was abandoned because of its high energy consumption. This icy blue laser sword can drain three D-type mechs in one second, and even on a super-powered mech, it can only be used continuously for six hours. But the power is very great, after being enhanced by a lightning-type psychic, it's effortless to destroy a small planet with one sword. Is it weak? No, the answer is exactly the opposite. It's too strong, so strong that ordinary mechs can't bear it, that's why the military abandoned it."
"According to your explanation, Qi Ze's mech has the shell of a D4, but the configuration of a super-powered mech?" Xu Qi was too shocked that he didn't even feel his fingers being burned by the cigarette butt.
"That's right." Yan Zhongkui pointed at the screen, "Forget dealing with ten D-T level mechs within one minute, even another ten would be no problem. Junyu, come, let's meet your talented partner."
"I'm old, my eyesight isn't accurate anymore. Such a capable young man, I treated him as an ordinary person." Old Master Yan put on his military cap, marveling, "Fortunately, I listened to your advice and sent him fifty billion in psychic compensation. Otherwise, I really would have been embarrassed to see him today. Junyu, when are you going to marry him?"
Yan Junyu, who intended to stop the two, stumbled, nearly falling. Grandfather always wanted him to bind others with marriage, what was wrong with him?
"Don't make it difficult for him," he spoke seriously, "If you dare to use threatening means on him, I'll take him and disappear forever."
"What are you thinking about, kid?" Yan Zhongkui laughed, "Being able to transform an ordinary mech into a super-powered mech, such a person can be compared to Mu Feixing. Do you think our Yan family dares to offend him? If he's willing to give me a few pointers, I'd bow and kowtow to him, serving him tea and recognizing him as my master. If he's unwilling, we'll respectfully send him away and actively protect his safety."
The old man echoed, "Your Uncle is right. If Qi Ze's strength was only at Mu Ran's level, he might have become a pawn for all sides to fight over. But his strength is comparable to Mu Feixing's, so there are very few who dare to openly move against him. With him here, the empire's future military strength will significantly increase, unifying the surrounding star regions, and even ranking among the second civilization will no longer be a pipe dream. There are many ambitious people in the empire, and no shortage of those with long-term vision. They will clearly recognize Qi Ze's value."
"I just fear that someone has short-sightedness and is blinded by greed." Yan Junyu spoke with a cold tone. Remembering the scene of nine mechs surrounding and attacking the young man alone, his heart raced, and his limbs turned cold.
"Such people do exist, it's uncertain who today's assassination was targeting." Old Master Yan looked at Xu Qi, asking, "Any leads yet?"
"No signs of hacker intrusion, no remote control devices, the mechs just mysteriously started up. We will thoroughly investigate, please rest assured, Marshal." Xu Qi awkwardly coughed, feeling that he said the last sentence too smoothly, not very convincing.
"Hmph, how can Laozi be at ease? It will definitely be another unsolved case!" The old man led the way to the conference room.
Yan Zhongkui's eyes flickered slightly, holding his nephew's shoulder, hesitantly asking, "The psychic power you mentioned last time..." Based on his understanding, under the condition of no invasion and no remote control, it was impossible for a mech to start up on its own.
"Hmm, let's talk about that when we return." Yan Junyu nodded.
The group knocked on the door, entering upon the young man's permission. Before they could speak, they heard him slowly say, "Who has that D4? Was it disassembled into pieces?"
"It's in my hands, waiting for you to come and disassemble it together." Yan Zhongkui spoke more tactfully. If the young man agreed, he would climb the pole, becoming a disciple and so on; if the young man refused, he would return the mech, slowly gaining his favor in the future. One must have foresight, not lose the bigger picture for minor gains. Without this D4, who knows, there might be T4, S4, SS4, SSS4 in the future?
"You didn't disassemble it?" Qi Ze raised an eyebrow.
"Without your consent, who would dare to disassemble it? Of course, this is also because our Yan family acted the fastest, arriving at the scene first and protecting the mech. If it was another family, it might have already been disassembled into parts." Yan Zhongkui both claimed credit and slandered, showing his mastery of speaking skills.
Old Master Yan spoke cheerfully, "Little buddy, we meet again. Let's go home for a casual meal, we'll eat and chat."
"Let's go." Qi Ze wasn't pretentious, getting straight to the point, "If you want the modification technology for that D4, pay for it."
Old Master Yan nearly stumbled and fell, unable to maintain his balance. He thought he would have to sell his grandson's charm again, but before he could open his mouth, the other party made it clear - just money, not people.
Sigh, this is good! This is really the best! Who, in terms of wealth, could compare to their Yan family? The vanguard mech force was the force that fought the most. Due to the post-apocalyptic legacy issue, the empire's definition of private property was very broad. Whatever fell into someone's hands belonged to them, as long as they could defend it, they could enjoy it for a lifetime. Therefore, most of the planets occupied by the vanguard force became the affiliated territory of the Yan family, collecting taxes until their hands went numb every year.
The young man only wanted money, having no other entanglements. Compared to the Mu family, who wanted to swallow the Yan family whole, he was an angel-like existence. Having lived most of his life, Old Master Yan discovered for the first time that someone could be so charmingly vulgar. He instantly found him pleasing to the eye and likable no matter how he looked at him!
"Deal!" He immediately decided, "The price is up to you."
"Let's eat first, I'm hungry." Qi Ze hadn't thought about the price yet, having to find an excuse to delay a bit of time. The group left the inner field, finding that there were still many spectators being questioned in the outer field. A handsome man stood outside the barricade, shouting loudly, "Qi Ze, will you be affiliated with the Imperial Academy after graduation? Can I apply to be your student?"
"Get lost, I was here first! Master Qi, please accept me as your disciple, heart-shaped sign!" A girl with a burly figure clasped her hands together, making a cute gesture. The crowd stirred, "Master, you're so amazing," "Qi Ze, your technique is simply godly," "You're a super genius," and other praises came incessantly.
Those who could be so interested in a graduation exam were mostly mech enthusiasts, how could they not see the wonders of that D4?