Chapter Forty-Six

The Legend of the Mecha Warrior has no pop-up ads. To zhlzh: The mecha warriors in this story have absolutely no connection to the “warrior commanders” you're referring to—it's pure coincidence. Furthermore, their natures are entirely different: one is a technical talent, the other a managerial one. Haha.

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Baili Nan couldn't pilot a mech, so he had no choice but to share a cockpit with Ye Chong. The cockpit, already cramped, felt even more packed with two people squeezed inside. What made matters worse was that Baili Nan stubbornly refused to throw away the women's products he had bought, endorsed by Feng Su. The limited space for movement in the cockpit was now severely affecting Ye Chong's ability to operate the mech. Without hesitation, Ye Chong immediately tossed all the clutter out, paying no mind to Baili Nan's woeful expression.

He inserted a chip, and the route to Black Horn was instantly read by the onboard AI, displaying itself on the star system map. Baili Nan had spent twelve gold diamonds at an inconspicuous little shop for this chip, which was said to provide the latest navigational routes to Black Horn.

Ye Chong took off, the mech roaring as it automatically followed the preset course.

After roughly thirty-eight hours of flight, they finally reached the protective belt of Black Horn—the Elma Region. Fortunately, Baili Nan had reminded him to bring plenty of energy combs; otherwise, they would never have made it this far.

Black Horn's interstellar environment was unique. Its periphery was encircled by an enormous asteroid belt, the Elma Region. The rocks in the Elma Region were not stationary—they moved constantly, and within them swirled countless vortexes of debris. If caught in one, you would be torn to shreds in an instant by overwhelming forces, like being thrown into a high-speed meat grinder. The danger index of the Elma Region was certainly no less than that.

Ye Chong switched the mech from automatic to manual mode. Amid the countless dense rocks, a narrow corridor about a hundred meters wide appeared intermittently. Only now did Ye Chong understand why Baili Nan had said that starships could never reach Black Horn. With such a narrow passage, it was no wonder that starships simply couldn't get through.

A moment's distraction, and a two-meter-diameter boulder shot past Ye Chong's eyes at high speed, giving him a fright and scaring Baili Nan even more. Ye Chong no longer dared to lose focus, carefully piloting the mech. In fact, the rocks in the corridor had been mostly cleared, and only occasionally did a stray piece float across, giving them the occasional scare.

Suddenly, a small squad of mecha warriors appeared ahead, piloting pure black humanoid mechs. Ye Chong's heart leaped, his face instantly changing!

What remarkable skill! While flying at high speed, they kicked rocks floating in the corridor aside with their legs, yet their own trajectories remained completely unaffected—as if those rocks had no effect on them at all. They were like massive human projectiles, plowing through the debris, clearing the path without the slightest hindrance. Such a phenomenon would only occur if there was a tremendous difference in mass—like a high-speed iron hammer smashing into a few green beans; the beans would be knocked away, but the hammer would barely notice the impact. Yet, the black mechs and the rocks were of similar mass, and still, the rocks were sent flying while their flight paths remained unchanged. How could Ye Chong not be astonished?

Ye Chong knew he couldn't achieve this. At high speed, he could hit the rocks, but his trajectory would inevitably be altered, and dramatically so!

The black squad moved incredibly quickly, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Along the way, all the debris floating in the corridor was swept clean by them.

With a grave expression, Ye Chong asked, "Who are those people?"

Baili Nan replied, "I'm not too sure myself. I think they’re responsible for clearing the route. You know, these passages are very unstable. Without their work, it would be a real problem!"

Ye Chong realized Baili Nan didn't really know either, so he fell silent, his anticipation for Black Horn growing even stronger. Ye Chong was obsessed with improving his own abilities. The skill demonstrated by that pure black mech had opened a whole new world to him! This was a completely different system from what Mu had taught him. Nothing could excite him more!

The route wound on, perilous at every turn. Only mecha warriors with exceptional piloting skills could traverse such a path. Ye Chong flew the short corridor for a full two hours. Baili Nan checked the time and couldn't help but exclaim, "Your flying skills are truly impressive! Last time I came with Cyclops, and it took him six whole hours! He’s nowhere near your level!"

Before them appeared a space station, shaped by two massive concentric rings. Five pipes, each about three kilometers in diameter, extended from the center and connected to the inner ring, while the outer ring seemed to encase the inner one, both rotating slowly in opposite directions. The inner ring had a diameter of fifteen kilometers, and the outer ring an astonishing nineteen.

Seeing Ye Chong's amazed expression, Baili Nan proudly explained, "This is the Outer District Zhiluan Station of Black Horn. It's named in honor of Yang Zhiluan, one of Black Horn's founders. Zhiluan Station is even bigger than the new Huitan Station built last year in the Faer System. Heh, this is paradise—anything you can imagine, as long as you have the money, the merchants here can provide. Heh, that includes..." Baili Nan grinned lecherously.

Ye Chong ignored him, cautiously maneuvering the mech into the automatic docking corridor. The door closed behind him as soon as he entered.

A few seconds later, the corridor's air pressure adjusted to suitable levels, and the control system signaled that they could exit. Ye Chong and Baili Nan climbed out of the mech, Ye Chong stowing it away in subspace. They walked to the exit, where a sensor door chimed softly and opened automatically.

Baili Nan strode out first, Ye Chong hesitating only a moment before following closely behind, scanning the surroundings with vigilance. Baili Nan's usually gaunt face was now alight with energy and confidence.

The view outside the corridor changed completely. The central hall, full of modern flair, featured a huge holographic screen. Around the corridor they had exited were many other passageways, fanning out in a semicircle. The holographic screen was divided into sections, offering a guide to Zhiluan Station, important news, and more.

Baili Nan carefully warned Ye Chong, "Sir, no matter what happens, never use force in Black Horn. The consequences here are extremely severe. The guards are incredibly tough." Seeing the eager glint in Ye Chong's eyes, Baili Nan was terrified. "Sir, please, don’t fight! You may be strong, but plenty of fighters who didn't believe it ended up the same way—none ever came out well against the guards, and all were taken away. No one knows what happened to them, but nobody ever saw them again!"

Baili Nan was visibly shaken.

Ye Chong had no choice but to suppress his fighting spirit for now.

After a while, Baili Nan, with a fawning smile, said, "Sir, let's split up and explore." With that, he conjured up two communicators, handing one to Ye Chong. "Sir, I've already input my number—you can contact me if anything comes up. But nothing should happen here. Oh, one more thing: prices are non-negotiable, but the merchants here have excellent reputations—no price gouging. Have fun, sir!" Before Ye Chong could respond, Baili Nan stuffed the bag of gold diamonds into his hand and darted away.

Ye Chong stared at the bag in his hand, glanced around, then looked at Baili Nan's receding figure, feeling a bit lost.