While conducting maintenance on Bai E’s ride, damaged mechs had already begun to return from the field, one after another.
Looking down from the high cockpit, the various maintenance drones resembled tiny ants, scurrying about in the vast hangar.
It seemed they occasionally encountered tricky issues; probing with their mechanical tentacles failed to pinpoint the crux of the problems.
Several grey-haired old masters were the ones they turned to for help.
Each had their own expertise.
Bai E curled his lips into a smile, retracted his gaze, and prepared to close his eyes to rest, intending to cultivate Spiritual Energy.
However, the moment he closed his eyes, a series of abrupt beeps sounded from inside his chest.
"Beep beep beep~"
The distinctive sound came from the communicator he had personally modified, similar to those he had given to Gilder and Kuang Xin, products exchanged with the military that he had privately altered.
Also a creation based on the internet, it possessed the same performance as the military’s products, but any data transmitted would not be captured by the military’s equipment.
There were only two parties that could contact this communicator—either Gilder or Kuang Xin.
And no matter who it was, they wouldn’t initiate contact with him unless facing special circumstances.
What happened?
Bai E’s brow furrowed slightly as he unzipped his uniform and took out the inconspicuously hidden, compact communicator.
From a player—
"Artificial intelligence retaliation, the town is lost!"
The message was brief, yet the information was concise.
Bai E had long known that AI always sought retribution.
Even for revenge, however, one had to find the real culprit.
As long as their operations were sufficiently covert and left no traces, Bai E did not believe these entities possessed the capacity for global pursuit.
The last time he and others attacked the AI fortress, hadn’t there been no repercussions?
Although the troops under the command of the doctor did annihilate the first wave of AI reinforcements that very night, there was a substantial period when the first wave had retaken the fortress, yet they made no pursuit.
But clearly... this time, there was a misstep.
Either he had overestimated the stealth of their actions, or he had underestimated the AI’s tracking methods.
Did he regret it? Not at all.
In the battle against the AI, it was a fight that had to happen sooner or later.
Regardless of whether it was for the development of the town, having a virtual world meant he needed the "Computing Power Resources" produced by AI.
Since the incident had already occurred, all that was left was to consider how to solve it.
"Ensure the safety of personnel during evacuation," Bai E replied immediately.
The town was their "foundation," and without his say, they probably wouldn’t dare make decisions.
Bai E of course wanted to save people.
As the town was already a ruin, he didn’t mind starting over from scratch.
But personnel were hard to come by.
In this era, people were both valuable and worthless.
Expendable lives were plentiful; probably every city saw countless poor die every day from various diseases, hunger, or bullying.
Yet loyal personnel who could be of use to him were incredibly important to the current Bai E.
To lose people and keep land would mean losing both; to keep people and lose land meant keeping both.
"Beep beep beep~"
The response came back quickly, but it was only two brief words—
"...Fight to the death."
Fight to the death...
Fight to the death!
They couldn’t even manage a safe retreat?
Bai E quietly clenched the communicator in his hand, for the first time feeling that the situation had spiraled out of his control.
The distance was too great, and in his current state, he was powerless despite his willingness.
Unless...
Bai E’s gaze shifted downwards; the dark grey platform underfoot remained silent but was exceptionally reliable.
Mechas could disregard harsh terrains; with their field movement speed far surpassing any known human vehicle and their defensive capabilities maxed out, as long as one didn’t crash headlong into a Bug Race nest, one could virtually traverse the fields with impunity.
If one were to pilot a mecha... perhaps it could still be in time?
But according to the normal procedure, how should he "learn" of a group of "refugees" being attacked by intelligent machinery far outside the city? And even dispatch a mecha to rescue them? Experience tales at freewebnovel
In the eyes of the military, a group of refugees of unknown origin probably isn’t as important as the materials expended and the risks undertaken for a mecha sortie.
Submitting an application would surely only lead to rejection.
Or... Act first, report later?
"..."
Just the thought of this sole possibility for carrying out the rescue made Bai E’s heart pound "thump-thump."
On one side, his own foundation.
On the other, the order of the barracks.
Whether he could protect himself with his current strength, prestige, and status in the barracks, Bai E wasn’t sure.
He was no longer that newly created artificial human who was always on tenterhooks, afraid of being dissected at any moment.
Perhaps it wasn’t out of the question to challenge the status quo... to test how this era really regarded someone with his potential and strength.
Besides, even if he messed up...
Yue Ying’s promise was his last line of defense.
"Buzz!"
"Buzz!"
The sudden movement of the intact, enormous mecha naturally startled many mech servants who were working overtime in the hangar.
It was already evening. Where would the mecha be headed at this hour?
The warehouse manager urgently connected to the voice channel inside Bai E’s cockpit, "Captain Bai?"
"I’ve just received a notice from the instructor. We are close to deploying, and we need to carry out a mission at night to enhance our nocturnal training."
"..."
It sounded reasonable, pretty convincing.
But something seemed off...
Before the manager could figure out what was amiss, the enormous mecha continued on its way.
"The mission is urgent, I’m heading out now."
"Oh~ Take care," the manager said almost reflexively.
A regular mech pilot of the Mech Armored Corps was treated like nobility in the barracks, let alone a "legendary" one.
An ordinary mech servant could be crushed to death by these elites without so much as a peep, which was why all mech servants both respected and feared each regular pilot.
Only soldiers who were doing poorly in the armored battalion would be transferred to the position of a mech servant.
Even though the manager was the head of all the mech servants, he was essentially a mech servant nonetheless.
They had the right to refuse a mecha sortie, but generally wouldn’t... nor dare to go against the will of the regular pilots.
Suddenly recalling something, the manager shouted after the retreating mecha, "Sir, you haven’t equipped your weapon modules!"
Apart from the basic equipment like the alloy sword and shield, all other armaments including machine guns, missile arrays, flamethrowers, and so on, were only loaded into the mecha body before a battle when needed.
Without the weapons, relying only on the mecha’s mechanical quality and a sword, the combat power it could exert would not be a tenth of its full capability, at least it would lose versatility for most combat situations.
"No need," came Bai E’s voice from the communicator.
Bai E rejected outright, afraid that the military system would react and deny him even the chance to ask forgiveness later.
"Oh, then safe travels."
Watching the colossal silhouette of the Titan-class armed mecha gradually disappear into the mist of the night, the manager still smiled cheerily.
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A mission at night?
That’s quite unusual.
But surely the sir wouldn’t dare to openly defy military regulations and move out on his own... right?
After all, there hadn’t been such a precedent before... had there?
Every regular mech pilot who made it into the Mech Armored Corps was an absolute elite, handpicked for their role. They likely wouldn’t be the kind of person to make such foolish, self-sabotaging moves... right?
The manager shuddered, feeling a sudden chill envelop him.
Fuck, could he really be the first unfortunate one?
The sir was an absolute elite, rumored to be the Chosen One even favored by the Mechanical Court; a little defiance of military discipline might not break him.
But what about himself?
What is he but rotten fish and shrimp?
"Quick! Contact the military affairs department!" the manager shouted, then turned and sprinted towards the central control platform, "Nevermind, I’ll do it myself!"