Yan Bo stood anxiously in the principal's office. Principal Helian, the Fifth Prince, and Mu Ran sat in the main seats, while several high-level mecha pilots surrounded them. In the center of the room, the emperor's life-sized hologram floated, engaged in a video call with the group.
"Has the analysis report on that D4 come out?" The emperor's tone was stern.
"Yes," the Fifth Prince transmitted the report over, his voice hoarse. "The D4's combat capabilities are on par with super mechas, but due to its unmodified armor, its defensive capabilities are lower. It's not invincible..."
"What's the point of what you're saying? Yes, it's not invincible, but what you need to understand is that Qi Ze spent only fifteen days modifying that mecha. Subtracting the time spent dismantling, reassembling, and painting, it might have taken him only six to seven days. In six to seven days, transforming a D-type mecha into a super mecha, I'll ask just one question: Among all of you, who has that level of skill?" The emperor's sharp gaze swept across their faces, finally resting on Mu Ran. "Can you do it? Young Master Mu?"
The Mu family no longer existed, and the term "Young Master Mu" carried a warning tone. Mu Ran sat stiffly for a moment before finally shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not capable of achieving that level at the moment."
Yan Bo glanced at him quickly, filled with regret. He never imagined that the boy he once despised a hundred times over would now be such a terrifying existence. Compared to him, Mu Ran's methods seemed naive. No wonder Yan Junyu preferred to fall out with the Mu family rather than give up Qi Ze. He must have seen Qi Ze's extraordinary potential! He blamed himself for his own stupidity, blinded by the Mu family's power, and yet, he didn't expect that the moment he joined them, the Mu family would fall, and even if Mu Ran had advanced to 4S, his skills were far behind Qi Ze's.
The two were not even in the same league!
As he was lost in thought, the emperor looked at him, questioning, "Where is the D4 now?"
As the Fifth Prince's bodyguard chief, Yan Bo hurried to report. "It's in the hands of Old Marshal Yan."
"Very good," the emperor chuckled, his expression somewhat twisted. "Qi Ze is bound to Yan Junyu, and the mecha is in the Yan family's hands. Such a genius, and you didn't discover him. What use are you to me? Sixth, he's your student, didn't you notice anything unusual? His transcripts, his mental power test results, are in your hands, aren't they?"
Principal Helian was greatly embarrassed, saying softly, "They are indeed in my hands, but after all, he is a carbon-based lifeform with a short lifespan, so I momentarily overlooked it."
"Indeed, his lifespan is short, but he can spend ten days creating a super mecha that you couldn't create in decades. That's the difference! A bunch of useless scum, all you can see is the tiny piece of ground at your feet, forgetting that there's always someone better and something greater! No matter what methods you use, you must win over Qi Ze. Remember, don't use force! His abilities are on par with Mu Feixing. The empire cannot lose him!"
What did it mean to transform a regular mecha into a super mecha in fifteen days? A comparison could illustrate the issue: With Mu Feixing, the empire had six super mechas over several centuries. But if they had Qi Ze, they could build a super mecha legion in a year. Their values couldn't be measured on the same scale; it wasn't that Qi Ze was too light, but too heavy.
A talent like him, if before fame, was best to be lured and controlled. If there was a chance, he could even be brainwashed into a tool. But after fame, no matter how deluded the empire's upper echelons were, they wouldn't dare persecute him. After all, by now, the entire Galaxy had learned of Qi Ze, placing his name alongside Mu Feixing's. If not for him being a carbon-based lifeform with a short lifespan, they might have ranked him above Mu Feixing.
"I understand, Father," the Fifth Prince nodded in submission.
"Mu Ran, since your family once had a falling out with Qi Ze, you'd better take the initiative to apologize and mend relations," the emperor instructed.
"Your command, Your Majesty," Mu Ran, filled with humiliation, had no choice but to bow his head.
"Persuade Qi Ze to take a position at the Imperial Academy. We desperately need his technology!" The emperor turned to look at Principal Helian, who immediately agreed.
The call ended, and several experts continued their analysis of the video. Laypeople watched the show, while the initiated saw the intricacies. The public generally believed that Qi Ze was very talented, and with a few more years of training, he would catch up to Mu Feixing, but most experts clearly realized that if Qi Ze wanted, he could build a super mecha right now. He seemed to have invented a new type of energy core, more powerful and lighter, a revolutionary innovation, a significant leap forward beyond his predecessors.
What a formidable young man! This phrase unconsciously popped into the minds of many.
Du Jiahe, the young master of the Du family who once ridiculed Yan Junyu for lacking vision, now regretted it bitterly. What scared him even more was that when he belittled Qi Ze, he didn't avoid him at all. Did Qi Ze have a good memory? Was he vengeful? Many people shared his anxiety, those who had slandered Qi Ze before the competition, now blushing with shame as they returned home. Especially the mecha manufacturing students, both ashamed of their lack of foresight and proud of their senior's achievements.
The truth was Qi Ze had never lied. When he said he had a trump card installed, it was completely true, no exaggerations. Poor those bettors he misled, almost bankrupting them.
After the Sixth Army took control of the scene and confiscated all the mechas, the other armies arrived one after another. Their goal, of course, wasn't to maintain order or investigate the truth, but to capture Qi Ze or that D4. But as with the previous explosion at the Mu family's old residence, they gained no advantage. They could only curse Old Marshal Yan in their hearts.
"They say Yan Junyu is a person with terrible judgment, a stubborn character, and inflexible. This is all a lie! If he hadn't learned of Qi Ze's strength beforehand, would he have given up Mu Ran? To pick up a melon, one must discard the sesame seeds. He's too good at adaptation and choice! The wily old fox has a worthy successor!" This opinion somehow became popular among the various armies. Yan Junyu's original image of righteousness was now replaced by one of cunning and deceit.
The D4, ardently desired by everyone, was now stored in the Yan family's warehouse. The energy core was open, revealing its internal structure. Yan Zhongkui stood on tall scaffolding, examining it closely. Qi Ze and Yan Junyu waited on the ground.
"Is Li Bingchen still bothering you?" Seeing the boy always hunched over his smartbrain, Yan Junyu frowned.
"Yeah, he said if I let him take a look at the D4, he'll give me full marks for my practical course." Qi Ze was busy replying to messages. This research-crazy mentor seemed to have set his sights on him, making dozens of calls, which proved ineffective, then frequently sending text messages to harass him.
"I'll let him take a look." Yan Junyu took a long-distance shot of the 4D and transmitted the photo.
Qi Ze turned to look at him, his expression somewhat indescribable. Where did the upright military man who seriously advised him to study hard and progress go? This was really easy to attract haters!
"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't recognize me?" Yan Junyu spoke gently as he added the leaping Li Bingchen to his blacklist.
On the scaffolding, Yan Zhongkui let out an excited cry. "My God! It's like this! I see! I finally understand! What a brilliant idea!"
"He understood it with just one look?" Old Marshal Yan walked over, laughing, followed by a group of Yan family high-ranking officials.
"Hello, Young Master, hello, Young Qi." These people had no airs, treating Yan Junyu and Qi Ze equally, in a friendly yet respectful manner. Being able to remain intact under the Mu family's constant control, oppression, and encroachment, the Yan family indeed had its extraordinary aspects. At least their ability to bend and stretch, and to treat people differently based on the situation, was top-notch.
"It can be understood, this mecha doesn't use overly complex technology, you're just influenced by your thinking patterns." Qi Ze explained.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Zhongkui burst out laughing, praising, "The way a genius thinks is indeed different from ordinary people. For thousands of years, common sense has told us that only refined energy stones can be used, never thinking to do the opposite."
"You mean this mecha uses unrefined energy stones? But the impurities within it would destroy the mecha's internal structure, even causing the mecha to explode." Old Marshal Yan couldn't believe this conclusion.
"The negative energy in energy stones often has a very stable structure and is hard to remove cleanly. So why not try removing the positive energy? Would it instead give us a 100% pure negative energy stone?" Qi Ze took out an almost black energy stone from his pocket, refined it instantly, and handed it to the old man. "Whether positive or negative, they are both energy bodies. Theoretically, they are all usable. And negative energy's explosiveness is often hundreds of times greater than positive energy. That is, a super mecha driven by a hundred pieces of 80% or higher purity positive energy stones can be easily powered by just one 100% pure negative energy stone. Of course, negative energy results in a fairly high mechanical wear rate, increasing the possibility of mecha scrapping. Using it requires considering the huge military expenditure loss. Given the Yan family's current financial resources, it's better to modify this negative energy core into some ordinary mechas, to be used as the ultimate trump card."
Qi Ze smiled slightly. "On the battlefield, if facing a life-or-death situation, having this super mecha that can only last a few minutes, or even tens of seconds, might instantly reverse the battle situation. Don't you think so?"
Yes, how could it not be? Short modification cycle, great power, wide application range. If the Yan family's T mecha troops were all equipped with this dual-energy core, in a critical moment, they could summon a super mecha legion. And a T-type mecha, which previously cost tens of millions, could now be built for just a few million, its cost ridiculously cheap!
As early as the End Century Era, people had already explored the various uses of energy stones and came to one conclusion - only refined energy stones could be used. Otherwise, they would cause a violent explosion. There was once a base that, due to using energy stones with inadequate purity, led to the sudden explosion of the safety membrane, destroying millions of lives. This disaster was still recorded in history books, remembered by each generation.
Thus, gradually, this conclusion became a truth, adhered to by posterity.
Old Marshal Yan tossed the black stone into the detector and, seeing the 100% purity prompt, couldn't help but laugh. "Truth is meant to be broken. This sentence is indeed true. Second brother, come down and see if it's easy to do."
Yan Zhongkui immediately jumped off the scaffolding, took a dark grey stone from Qi Ze's hands, and spent more than ten minutes turning it black, nodding. "Much easier than refining positive energy! A mental power user above level nine can do it. Moreover, this type of energy stone is waste discarded by the mine owners. A few thousand star coins can buy a ton of it. The more impurities, the lower the price, the easier it is to refine. Although energy can be significantly reduced, each mecha must be equipped with a higher load-bearing mental power control system. This is a major project. The cost is secondary; the main issue is that only I can reinforce the cables. Time is an issue. In fifty-sixty years, whether we can modify even one mecha is a question."
"Why do you reinforce the fiber optic cables one by one, instead of handling them all at once?" Qi Ze felt a little strange, randomly picking up a bundle of fiber optic cables from the toolbox and inputting his mental power. The originally dull white thin filament instantly burst with brilliant golden light, blossoming in the boy's hands like a silk tree flower.
Yan Zhongkui stared at him with wide eyes. "How did you do that? What is your mental power value?"
Others could barely reinforce a single fiber optic cable no matter how hard they worked, but the boy could instantly reinforce an entire bundle. No wonder he could modify the D4 in just half a month.
"This isn't a level issue, but a realm issue. Don't think about condensing your mental power into threads, evenly and finely laying them in the fiber optic cables, but think that your mental power is the fiber optic cable itself, completely occupying it. The use of mental power, first and foremost, is precise control. As it advances, it's the overall connection between intention and the external world. It can be a part of your body, or it can separate and become an independent consciousness entity." Qi Ze continued. "In more concise terms: Mental power has two realms, one is micro-introspection, the other is macro-projection. You figure it out for yourself."
Yan Zhongkui listened in a trance, tightly gripping the bundle of fiber optic cables, unwilling to let go. Without the boy's words, he might have never understood the essence of mental power. It was an energy body, but it could also be a consciousness body, and potentially an individual!
"I understand! This time, I really understand!" His cheeks flushed with excitement, the fiber optic cables in his hand lighting up one, two, three, four... a few minutes later, half bright and half dim, a bundle of stars, looking very beautiful.
Old Marshal Yan and the high-ranking officials were shocked but also ecstatically realized - Yan Zhongkui had finally broken through the bottleneck and officially advanced to a 2S-grade mecha manufacturer. With the new energy core technology and a person who could create a high load-bearing mental power control system quickly, the Yan family's army was truly strengthened!
"Thank you, Master Qi! Thank you so much!" Yan Zhongkui hugged the boy, patting him hard, incoherently saying, "I've advanced, I need to go consolidate my mind domain. Dad, you entertain the Master for me. Junyu, if you dare to do anything wrong by the Master, Laozi won't spare you first!" After speaking, he hugged a pile of fiber optic cables and ran off joyfully.
Qi Ze felt like his lungs were squeezed out and could hardly digest the Yan family's enthusiasm. Yan Junyu hurriedly caressed the boy's back, then took out a bottle of mineral water and fed him a few sips, wiping off the water stains at the corner of his mouth.
Old Marshal Yan liked the two of them more and more. Waving his hand, he said, "Come, let's go eat in the front hall. Your second uncle is going into seclusion. He won't come out for half a month. This is the perfect time for him to handle the fiber optics." Seemingly remembering something, he looked at the adjutant and ordered, "Buy another ton of scrap and send it to the second young master's room. Let him handle the energy stones. It's more time-efficient this way. When he comes out, the raw materials will all be ready. We should be able to modify at least three dual-energy mechas."
The adjutant shouted his assent and hurriedly went. A group of high-ranking officials escorted Master Qi to the banquet hall like the moon surrounded by stars. Meanwhile, many families also extended invitations to Qi Ze. Even Ouyang Ye and Mo Tianlei received many important invitations.
Li Yu's industries on Neptune received strong support from the local government; Neptune's slogan changed from "Beast's Paradise" to "Master Qi's Hometown"; Neptune Military Academy also benefited, the admission score this year increased by more than a hundred points, the number of students skyrocketed. Especially the performance department and mecha manufacturing department.
When Qi Ze was negotiating the buyout price of the D4 with the Yan family, Mu Ran and the Fifth Prince returned to the mansion in a sorry state.
On the Star Network, praising Qi Ze and belittling Mu Ran's comments were everywhere, but Mu Ran was already accustomed to it all. He carelessly shut down his personal page and spoke to his only confidant. "Did you watch today's match? Can you hack into that D4?"
"Saw it, can't."
"Why? Aren't you able to hack into any network?"
"Except for that D4, oh, and Qi Ze's smartbrain."
"Help me kill Qi Ze!" Mu Ran asked this person for help for the first time, feeling utterly embarrassed.
"Okay, but I need to find his weakness. He's great! His D4 is a genius idea, a whole new energy system. Even I couldn't do it!"
"Enough! I want you to kill him immediately, right now!" Mu Ran lost his usual calm. Compared to the destruction of his family, the feeling of his pride and self-esteem being trampled on repeatedly was clearly more unbearable to him.
"Are you commanding me?" The other side slowly typed these words.
"No, I'm asking you." Mu Ran held his breath, waiting. One minute, five minutes, ten minutes, the other side remained still. He finally gave up, like a walking corpse, coming to the window and staring blankly at the distance.
"Dear? Is this the gift you sent me? I like it so much!" The Fifth Prince ran in excitedly, holding a miniature mecha in his hands.
Mu Ran turned to look and found the miniature mecha was very finely crafted, modeled after the super mecha, Tianzhu. Every detail was very lifelike, its eyes faintly shining like it was alive. "Where did this toy come from?" A strange feeling appeared in his heart.
"Didn't you send it to me? I found it on my nightstand when I returned to my bedroom. I just asked the butler, no one came today, and there was no delivery." The Fifth Prince waved the mecha in his hand, laughing. "Dear, this is clearly your craftsmanship. Only you could make a toy look like a real mecha. Look at it, every part is exactly the same, just scaled down. If you put an energy stone in it, would it move?"
A chill instantly ran up Mu Ran's scalp. He rushed forward, seized the mecha, and threw it out the window.
"Why did you throw it away?" The Fifth Prince was puzzled.
Before Mu Ran could explain, the miniature mecha thrown out the window activated its thrusters, performing a beautiful flip in midair, then dove inward. Its originally deep eyes now radiated two dots of red light, turning its small head to lock onto Mu Ran. Both hands gripped the chest armor, quickly prying it open, exposing the two particle cannons beneath.
"It's remotely controlled!" Every action of this small mecha was clean and decisive, as if there was a seasoned psychic inside controlling it. The Fifth Prince was greatly intrigued but didn't realize the arrival of danger at all.
"Dodge quickly!" Mu Ran hugged him and rolled to the side.
The particle cannons of the small mecha had infrared tracking capabilities. No matter how they dodged, they were always aimed at. A muffled bang. Initially, only the size of a grain of rice, the particle cannons expanded tens of thousands of times upon firing, enveloping the entire room.
Mu Ran took out an energy membrane generator from his Interspatial Button long ago, enveloping himself and the Fifth Prince. But the small mecha didn't know the meaning of giving up, relentlessly pursuing them and bombarding them. At the same time, its firepower continued to increase. The power of the particle cannons was almost on par with the pulse cannons, causing cracks in the energy membrane.
"What the hell is this? Why is its firepower almost on par with a T-type mecha?" The Fifth Prince shouted as he fled with his fiancé. But under the fierce bombardment of the cannons, his retreat was cut off step by step.
"I don't know!" Mu Ran's mind was already numb. The mecha, shrunk ten thousand times, didn't reduce its combat value at all. How did Qi Ze do it? He could be 100% sure that this pursuit and murder was Qi Ze's revenge. Only he would use such a bizarre and brazen method.
"Don't worry, its eyes have darkened. It should be a sign of depleted energy. We just need to hold on!" The Fifth Prince said in a hurry.
Mu Ran looked back and indeed found that the small mecha's eyes had dimmed a lot. But in the next second, they burst forth with terrifying light, then under the catalysis of some medium, expanded, disintegrated, transforming into a concentrated mass of black mist. A powerful shock wave instantly leveled the Fifth Prince's mansion, the thick black mist spreading everywhere but was absorbed by a stone in the mecha wreckage. The process was quick, leaving no sense of strangeness.
The defense team only saw the Fifth Prince's mansion produce a violent explosion, a burst of flames rising into a column of smoke, then slowly dissipating. Moving closer, the originally magnificent buildings had turned into a pile of rubble. In the last explosion, the energy membrane shattered. The Fifth Prince and Mu Ran were badly injured, already in a coma.
Since the incident happened too quickly, almost no one could explain what happened here. They only guessed that terrorists had planted a remote bomb, intending to assassinate this most likely crown prince successor.