Chapter 137: Dog Eat Dog

Kuang Hongyi froze upon hearing Xuan Xuan's words, and asked with a dumbfounded expression, "Are you going to put the mechanism you used on the simulation mecha into this one?"

Xuan Xuan looked at him, her gaze conveying that this was stating the obvious.

She nodded and said, "Yes."

Zheng Chao stood to the side, completely lost. What simulation mecha? The modification method from a simulation mecha was going to be applied to a real mecha?

"That mental-power-operated system?" Kuang Hongyi asked again uncertainly.

Xuan Xuan ignored him and simply looked at the mecha before her.

Accustomed to Xuan Xuan's silence, Kuang Hongyi continued, "Are you certain about this?"

Having studied under Kuang Hongyi for over a decade, she had a solid understanding of mechas, and combined with her recent independent research, Xuan Xuan felt confident. She nodded at Kuang Hongyi.

Kuang Hongyi thought it over and ultimately agreed, "I'll keep an eye on things."

Still worried that Xuan Xuan lacked experience and needed someone to supervise, he stayed close. Xuan Xuan nodded and instructed Zheng Chao to start dismantling the mecha. Having manual labor around made things much easier; Xuan Xuan sat to the side, toying with the simulation mecha she had previously built.

Kuang Hongyi sidled up to her, brazenly asking, "What is the underlying principle here?"

After studying it for half a year, he had finally surrendered to the fact that he simply couldn't understand it, even though Xuan Xuan was his pupil.

Xuan Xuan reassembled the mecha part she had retrieved from Kuang Hongyi, operating the simulation mecha in her hand via mental power control. This gadget was quite good for children to train their mental power, though the production cost was a bit high. She snorted at Kuang Hongyi, remembering how he had once looked down upon her simulation mecha.

"Good disciple, does your mecha need anyone to help with the modifications?" Kuang Hongyi asked, thinking that participating in the refitting process wouldn't be bad at all.

Xuan Xuan shook her head. "No need."

The Federal First Military Academy's rookie tournament had strict regulations. Mecha modifications within a team had to be carried out exclusively by members of the student's own team, and every mecha was equipped with monitoring devices to ensure students performed the work themselves.

She glanced at Kuang Hongyi, wondering why he hadn't been this proactive before. Hmph.

Kuang Hongyi caught Zheng Chao staring at the two of them in surprise. His weathered face flushed red, but he maintained his shameless persistence. "Come on, Xuan Xuan, Master can help you guide the other sections."

Xuan Xuan bounced the simulation mecha in her hand, pondering the proposition. It seemed like a pretty good trade-off. Her slender, graceful fingers danced across the simulation mecha, and she beckoned Zheng Chao to come closer as well.

Since Zheng Chao was going to participate in the modifications anyway, having him understand the process beforehand would be beneficial.

She completely dismantled a mecha component and handed it to them for inspection, pointing at a single silver line. "Look at this."

"What is this?" Kuang Hongyi examined it closely, noticing delicately carved patterns running along the ultra-fine silver line. He gently brushed his finger over it. "Are the things engraved on here the key?"

Xuan Xuan nodded. "These lines, and this right here."

She pointed toward the core component in front of them.

"The combination of these two elements enables mental power control over the mecha. These lines act like human nerves, while this core functions like the brain. The core can be completely governed by mental power; your mental power connects to it, and through it, you command the mecha," Xuan Xuan explained.

"What is the principle behind this core?" Kuang Hongyi asked.

Xuan Xuan glanced at the core, then spread her hands toward Kuang Hongyi, realizing that explaining it simply and quickly was impossible. "Just watch."

Zheng Chao still didn't understand and asked, "What is the point of doing this?"

"Current mechas can only utilize mental power for partial control, while the rest must rely on manual operation. However, human thought and physical hand movements cannot be completely synchronized. In other words, sometimes your brain reacts, but your hands are too slow to keep up, preventing the mecha's movements from achieving the desired effect," Xuan Xuan explained.

Zheng Chao nodded, acknowledging that such situations indeed existed.

"Only a few people, like Kuang Shaos and the others, possess the predictive ability to anticipate someone else's next move in advance," Xuan Xuan shrugged. "That's a minority, after all."

"More importantly, if this kind of mecha can achieve full mental power control, then the reaction speed of these individuals will increase exponentially. Even standard mechas will become much faster," Kuang Hongyi continued. "The best S-class mechas currently available merely reduce a portion of the lag, but Xuan Xuan's method allows the mecha to completely match the human brain's reaction speed."

"Isn't this technology still imperfect?" Zheng Chao asked with wide eyes.

Naturally, such technology was formidable. Large interstellar warships generally housed similar equipment, but it was evidently far from perfect, and from what he knew, it looked nothing like the device before him.

Moreover, those technologies required machinery many times larger than the mecha in front of them; how could it possibly be fitted inside?

Xuan Xuan glanced at him, finished assembling the simulation mecha in her hand, made it move through sheer mental command, and then looked back at Zheng Chao.

Zheng Chao's eyes were filled with sheer disbelief.

Ignoring his ignorance, Kuang Hongyi turned back to Xuan Xuan. "Is the cost of this thing high?"

"It's alright," Xuan Xuan gave an ambiguous reply.

Kuang Hongyi asked with a face full of dark lines, "What does 'alright' mean in numbers?"

She spread her hands, noting that none of the materials were prepared by her, meaning she had no idea about the price. "I don't know."

Kuang Hongyi gritted his teeth and glared at Zheng Chao. "Why aren't you getting to work?"

He couldn't touch this mecha himself, and he didn't dare or couldn't bear to scold Xuan Xuan, so he had to vent his frustration on Zheng Chao. What was he still standing around for?

Zheng Chao curled his lip. With two masters present, they still expected him to do the physical labor. Yet, the moment he thought of the simulation mecha in Xuan Xuan's hands, his eyes lit up, and he turned to the mecha before him with blazing enthusiasm.

All afternoon, Xuan Xuan gathered various metals while Zheng Chao completed the dismantling of the mecha.

Thinking she should call Zhan Yu over to help next time—since smelting metals remained a hassle—Xuan Xuan headed home, carrying the simulation mecha while Kuang Hongyi and Zheng Chao watched longingly.

Upon entering her house, she found her father sitting in the living room, wearing a stern expression that softened only when he saw Xuan Xuan return. "Why are you only back now?"

"Modifying mechas. I'm so hungry," Xuan Xuan pouted and said.

"There's food left for you in the kitchen," Moqi Lianhao ultimately couldn't bear the thought of Xuan Xuan going hungry.

Xuan Xuan cheerfully headed to the kitchen. Emerging with her meal, she ran into Moqi Weihan and his brother, tossing the simulation mecha straight into Moqi Weihan's hands.

"What is this? A simulation mecha?" Moqi Weihan asked with a smile. "Big brother stopped playing with these years ago."

They had loved simulation mechas when they were children—or rather, all children in the Federation adored simulation mechas—but now that they could pilot actual mechas, who would bother playing with simulations?

She gave him a sideways glance. If he didn't want it, she'd take it back, but Moqi Weihan grinned. "For your sake, I'll reluctantly accept it."

Xuan Xuan let out a soft huff.

After looking it over up and down, Moqi Weihan asked, "Hey, where's the control pad?"

"Controlled and trained entirely by mental power. I'm going to modify the mechas you'll use in the rookie tournament into this type as well, controlled completely through mental power. This one is bound to me, so it might not feel entirely flexible when you use it, but it shouldn't be a major issue," Xuan Xuan said leisurely after finishing her food.

Watching Xuan Xuan's retreating figure, Moqi Weihan and Moqi Weihao exchanged bewildered glances, both filled with disbelief. Checking the calendar to confirm it wasn't April Fools' Day, they wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

Tentatively, Moqi Weihan reached out with his mental power to connect with the simulation mecha.

Suddenly raising his head, Moqi Weihan prompted Moqi Weihao's question, "What is it?"

Controlling the simulation mecha to spin in a circle, Moqi Weihan said with a strained tone, "It actually seems to work."

Moqi Weihao was struck dumb as well.

Early the next morning, the two brothers pied Xuan Xuan with questions about the simulation mecha, but she simply yawned and ignored them.

Zheng Chao, meanwhile, still wore an expression of intense excitement.

As Kuang Shaos stepped into the mecha training room, he swept his gaze across the room. Apart from a few individuals, everyone else wore gloomy expressions, especially those intending to participate in the rookie tournament. They wanted to compete, but the "Mecha Piloting" class currently refused to teach mecha piloting at all.

"I hear you're all joining the rookie tournament?" Kuang Shaos clicked his tongue twice before adding, "At your current level, you're far too embarrassing for me."

The crowd below looked even gloomier. If not for Kuang Shaos, would their skill level be this pathetic?

Students in other classes received at least three months of mecha piloting lessons, whereas they had been forced to study mecha repair for three months instead.

Seeing the depressed faces below, Kuang Shaos felt the grievance of being driven from his home the day before finally dissipate. "To keep you from embarrassing me, starting today, we'll spend half the class familiarizing ourselves with mechas and the other half learning mecha operations."

Everyone froze in unison. This didn't seem like Kuang Shaos's usual style at all.

Before anyone could react, Kuang Shaos began his lecture. "Aside from becoming familiar with mechas and understanding all their structural designs, mecha piloting..."

As Xuan Xuan sat daydreaming while listening to Kuang Shaos's lecture, her gaze abruptly swept toward Xuan Guo sitting behind her. Wait a minute—had the Zerg parasite inside her grown even stronger than before?

It was likely due to absorbing too much of Xuan Guo's life force and dark elements. Even so, it remained within manageable parameters. Xuan Xuan performed a subtle maneuver, tightening her control over Xuan Guo.

Frowning slightly, Xuan Xuan walked out of the mecha training room and contacted her father via communicator.

Moqi Lianhao sounded surprised. "What is it, Xuan Xuan?"

"Who has Xuan Guo been seeing recently?" Xuan Xuan asked.

Moqi Lianhao expressed astonishment. "How did you know? She just met with Bai Ruchen yesterday, though Bai Ruchen hasn't made any moves yet. Xuan Qin hasn't appeared either, and the investigation into the Zerg has yielded no progress, but Bai Ruchen and his group should be making their move soon."

"Bai Ruchen?" The corners of Xuan Xuan's lips curled into a smile.

Seeing Xuan Xuan smile without apparent reason, Moqi Lianhao asked, "What is it?"

"I suspect Xuan Guo has also planted a Zerg parasite inside Bai Ruchen," Xuan Xuan said with a smirk. Was this what they called dogs biting dogs?

Xuan Guo certainly harbored immense ambitions, but controlling Bai Ruchen right now was undeniably her best course of action.

"She wants to control the Bai family through Bai Ruchen?" Moqi Lianhao felt a brief surge of surprise followed by realization. Indeed, it was the optimal strategy.