Chapter 40: Loneliness

Having dodged this wave, the physical exertion is actually already immense for an average person; if it were a squad pushing through, they could still coordinate with each other, but in solo combat, there is no choice.

Continue forward.

The cliff leap in the third wave must be a desperate, all-or-nothing jump for the Armor Dragon, but the two flying Giant Insects are lethal; yet, these two boomerang maneuvers have reached a point that leaves one dumbfounded.

Flying knife technique is something many pilots practice, and achieving such precision is possible, but the boomerang technique?

And when the distance is insufficient due to obstruction, the details are provided.

The Armor Dragon Fighter hooked its body onto the cliff face by cutting directly into it in the form of a hand blade; the entire sequence of movements was cold and decisive, exuding an indescribable aura of slaughter.

Then it climbed up, inch by inch.

As for the fourth wave, everyone thought the lurker was disguised as a stone; only when playing it back in slow motion did they realize there was nothing there—the lurker was hidden within the rugged ground, completely invisible; this is purely the tactical literacy of a Warrior.

It looks like the simplest part again, just good luck.

But Elite military academy students like Luo Bi, Dita, Wuzang, and Zhou Naiyi understand that as a person, as a biological entity, to be able to maintain such vigilance after experiencing so many challenges—just how terrifying must this person be?

What kind of training must one have undergone to form such muscle memory?

So when the Armor Dragon Fighter climbed onto the shore, there were no cheers, no jumping for joy, and none of the revelry seen when others complete a record.

When the giant screen displayed the S-rank first-clear record, the entire cafeteria erupted in cheers; people raised their glasses to celebrate—it was too awesome, and hearing that this Puppet was also from the USE made it even more worth a drink for everyone.

This battle brought Puppet completely into the public eye of the USE; it would be unreasonable for someone who specializes in the Armor Series Mecha not to be from the USE anyway, and in any case, given the personalities of Moon People and Martians, they quite look down on Earth mecha.

Li Hao also raised his glass, just about to have a drink with A Youyou, when he noticed A Youyou staring blankly at the screen, her eyes seeming a bit red.

"A Youyou, what's wrong?" Li Hao asked curiously, "Your reaction is a bit strange."

A Youyou only then came back to her senses, looking at Li Hao a bit embarrassed, "It's nothing, Senior, I just feel that this person must be very lonely..."

Li Hao froze for a moment, slowly putting his glass down, watching A Youyou in a daze; this lively girl, he felt he had already fallen for her.

In the livestream room, Zhuang Zhou naturally wouldn't hide his excitement and bragged a bit; this wasn't even bragging, it was truly awesome; he had been the one commentating the whole way, finally leaving Huonan speechless.

"Senior Huonan, why don't you provide a summary." Zhuang Zhou also wanted to counterattack.

Huonan nodded, a smile appearing on his face; he had let the other party output for a while, but the opponent was just too green. "It was completed beautifully; it seems this Puppet came prepared. I have to admit he has some substance, but I still find it hard to like this person. He's too arrogant, loves to pose on purpose, and acts all high and mighty with just a little achievement. As everyone knows, we Martians like what is real, what is true character..."

???

Zhuang Zhou was stunned; this was ridiculous, could he really say that?

Not celebrating is acting high and mighty? Then what about celebrating? Does that mean one is getting carried away?

Come to think of it, Huonan really hit the spot for Martians; looking at the barrage, Zhuang Zhou wanted to curse—in the entire Solar System, aren't the Martians at the center of the universe the ones who love acting high and mighty the most???

At the same time, the EMP officials took this opportunity to release a new Giant Insect in the Kepler Training Camp: the Harvester, which possesses flight capabilities.

The Harvester is a size smaller than the Razor Giant Insect, but it possesses extremely strong flight capabilities, making it agile, sharp, and difficult to deal with.

The Alpharia Ring Zone on the Moon is private property, belonging to the Meraphis Family.

The Meraphis Family is a well-deserved wealthy clan; on the surface, it is only known that the family is the largest shareholder of the NUP Federation Reserve.

Speaking of the development history of the Meraphis Family, it is quite bizarre; they were the first to lead the migration to the Moon. At the time, this plan required huge investment and high risk, but the Moon contains abundant Helium-3, and Helium-3 has now become the main energy source replacing oil in the Solar System; the rise of the Meraphis Family was inevitable.

But this rise also aroused the wariness of various parties, eventually violating antitrust laws, and the Meraphis Family's energy industry was forcibly broken up.

Yet... the various industries after being broken up developed just as rapidly, leveraging the technological advantages of the NUP, gradually becoming industry leaders, and the main shareholders of these companies remained the Meraphis Family.

Invisibly, it achieved a super behemoth that blossomed everywhere in the NUP.

The NUP Federation Reserve is only an industry on the surface; this is truly wealth that rivals a nation.

The current head of the generation is Xilian Molafisi; his parents passed away due to a laboratory accident three years ago, and it was after that accident that Xilian woke up from a coma; there are also some rumors in the streets that this matter has quite a bit to do with Xilian.

In the vast laboratory, Xilian was directing the intelligent system to extract materials; it was he who discovered an active substance from the extracts of the Giant Insect, and this substance has a high possibility of completely revolutionizing mecha technology.

The automatic door opened; Xilian remained focused on the experiment, and the middle-aged man who entered did not disturb him, just standing quietly to the side.

After being busy for a while, Xilian rubbed his forehead, only then noticing the middle-aged man, nodding slightly, and continuing to busy himself with what was in his hands.

"Young Master, I just arrived a moment ago; there is some not-so-good news. Maxis, Fan Liweite, Dita, and the others have declined your invitation," Ma'er said calmly. "Do you need to put some pressure on them?"

Xilian's expression was calm, "Forget it, it was within expectations."

Ma'er Molafisi is a retainer of the Meraphis Family, serving the Meraphis Family for generations, and also bears the surname of the Meraphis Family.

Ma'er's expression was a bit murderous, "They are part of your plan. If it weren't for your backing and funding these past few years, how could they have been so smooth sailing?"

Xilian smiled slightly, "Humans are a fragile and selfish species; it's fine, it doesn't affect anything."

During that time in a coma, he had fallen into boundless darkness and despair, but at the same time, he had gained the process of thinking from another perspective; that experience was perhaps preparation for today's transformation; he discovered his former impetuousness and shallowness, and he had also once been intoxicated by some hollow pleasures.

A great existence must first detach itself from the low-level interests of biological life.

Only the weak crave to be understood.

"How is that person doing?" Xilian asked softly.

"I had people look into it. He was locked up for a year—the USE didn't mess around—and then he was in the preparatory class, but the officials forbade him from involving himself in Martial Arts. He himself applied for the Journalism Department, but was later specially recruited into the Mecha Department by the old principal of Tianjing Martial Arts; the results he has shown are average," Ma'er said.

At the thought of that person, Xilian seemed to still feel the pain in his chest, "The current principal of Tianjing Martial Arts is Long Danni, right?"

"Yes, she is also a backbone of the young and vigorous faction of the USE Federal Army. Times have changed; do you need me to arrange something for him?"

Ma'er said; his arrangement, naturally, was to arrange an accident.

Xilian thought quietly for a while, "I haven't thought through his ending yet; let it be for now. How are the talks with Kepler going?"

"Rest assured, a preliminary understanding has been reached. The corpses of the Giant Insects are currently mainly used for experiments in the various military academies of the Federation; they are more than happy that we are willing to purchase them at a high price."

"Hmm, the channels must be secure; don't be afraid of trouble, take a few more detours; don't let anyone find any traces."

"Yes, Young Master. Additionally, the feedback on the new weapons is good; the Federal military is willing to purchase them in large quantities to update and replace the ones in the mecha."

Xilian nodded; it was within expectations. The bodies of the Giant Insects contain a special element that can strengthen weapons, but this contains even greater secrets and significance, enough to change all of humanity.

He is going to do something that no one has ever done before.

…………

Early Monday morning, Li Hao was shaken awake; two curious babies were lying on the head of the bed, giving Li Hao a fright.

"What are you two doing!" Li Hao pulled the blanket up.

"Ouch, Hao Ge, not bad, you picked up a girl without a sound. Quick, tell me, how far have you two gone!" Ma Long's gossiping heart was leaping with joy the entire weekend.

"I heard you even took her to Wuzang's place. That's incredible, are you taking off now?" Ma Long had a wicked grin on his face.

"Take off your head," Li Hao said, though he couldn't help but reveal a knowing smile at the thought of A Youyou, "I've been hit."

"That's not being hit, that's falling. You've completely fallen into a gentle trap. Do you have a photo? What does she look like?"

Ma Long and Zuo Xiaotang were both very curious. Wuzang had seen her, but his opinion could be skipped entirely.

"She is a very gentle girl," Wuzang said.

"What do you know, you greenhorn? You need an expert like me to take a look. Show us the photo," Ma Long said with a hint of disdain.

"I only have one photo on hand." Li Hao opened his Skynet, the one he and A Youyou had taken under the moonlight.

Ma Long and Zuo Xiaotang scrutinized it up and down, wishing they could use a magnifying glass.

"Not bad, you can tell at a glance she has a good personality, but she doesn't seem as pretty as Ye Tong," Ma Laoshi said with a hint of regret. He felt her skin was average, though she looked very clear and pure, not like a green tea. "Hao Ge, don't you want to consider sacrificing your looks? I'm counting on riding your coattails."

(I feel the emotions are a bit more nuanced than before. Brothers and sisters who find it interesting, please click a little bookmark so you don't get lost for updates ^_^)