After Admiral He gave the order, soldiers immediately stepped forward. They used their Space Rings to store the four Steel Beasts one by one.
Once they were stored, Admiral He led his men onward to survey the area.
They had only gone a few hundred meters when Admiral He raised his hand, halting the troops behind him.
"Everyone, on alert. There's movement."
After listening intently, Admiral He's face grew grim. "A large number of mutant beasts are heading our way. Spread out and prepare to attack."
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, in an underground cave, a man with a buzz cut watched in frustration as mutant beasts escaped from the entrance.
"Open fire! We have to kill them all!"
While a fierce battle raged on the front lines, the main base on B6 Star was an oasis of calm.
Lin Jingjing was sound asleep in her bed, as was Feng He in the one next to hers.
The next morning, an alarm clock jolted them awake. The two dragged themselves out of bed to wash up.
The three of them met downstairs at the mess hall and went inside to collect their breakfast of steamed buns and eggs.
Breakfast was the only meal where they didn't have to drink Nutrient Liquid.
Two buns and two eggs each. If they'd had any Star Coins, they definitely would have bought drinks as well.
Because of their low rank, they always sat in the farthest corner.
As they ate, they overheard nearby soldiers discussing the previous night's events. "There was a fight with mutant beasts on the front lines last night. They're getting smarter—they've even started digging tunnels."
"Good thing Admiral He found them in time. He stopped those mutant beasts from succeeding."
"Exactly. If they'd succeeded, a lot of our people would have died."
"And they might have absorbed all the Liuyun Crystal, too."
Hearing this, the three of them looked up and met each other's eyes. Lin Jingjing and Feng He immediately placed the eggs from their own plates in front of Shi Feng.
"You deserve the most credit. These are for you."
Shi Feng chuckled and gladly accepted the two extra eggs.
After they finished breakfast, Captain Li assigned them a new task.
"You're off dung duty today," he said. "The front line sent back a batch of Mecha. The three of you are going to wash them."
With that, he led them to the cleaning bay.
The cleaning bay was massive, filled with countless towering Mecha.
The Mecha were covered in scars of all sizes, and what's more, they were caked in blood.
They could smell the stench of blood even from the doorway.
"Your job is to get every Mecha in here clean today."
Captain Li said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
He took a long drag, slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke, and added, "And remember, I want it done today."
"All 500 of them."
The three of them felt like they'd been struck by lightning. 'Five hundred Mecha in one day? That's a death sentence.'
"Aren't there any tools to help us?" Lin Jingjing asked quickly.
Captain Li pressed a button on the wall. Three robots promptly descended from a panel next to it.
They were waist-high to Lin Jingjing, with round heads and bodies.
"They'll assist you," Captain Li said, activating the three robots one by one.
Seeing the robots, Shi Feng asked, confused, "If there are robots, why do you need us to do it?"
Captain Li shot him a look. "Always with the questions, aren't you?"
Despite his retort, he still explained, "Because they're not thorough. They can't clean the interiors or get into all the nooks and crannies."
"So, your job today is to handle the details—the nooks, the crannies, and the interiors."
He was losing patience. "Just do what you're told and cut the chatter!"
Captain Li stalked off, his face dark. Feng He watched him go and remarked, "He's always angry. He should be careful, or he'll make himself sick."
"Seriously," Shi Feng chimed in. "All that stress is gonna get to him."
The robots were already grabbing tools to clean the Mecha exteriors. The mutant beast blood had a truly foul stench.
The trio put on masks and gloves, grabbed brushes and buckets, and got to work.
As they scrubbed, they couldn't help but run their hands over the Mechas' outer shells.
They were filled with envy. "I want to have my own Mecha, too," Lin Jingjing said, gazing at the black machine in front of her.
"Me too," the other two said in unison.
For kids who grew up on military bases like them, a Mecha was the ultimate dream.
Unfortunately, their spiritual power was too low. They couldn't pilot a single one of the Mecha here.
The trio grumbled as they worked, until they eventually ran out of things to complain about and fell into a grim silence.
They worked straight through to the afternoon, only pausing to drink a bottle of Nutrient Liquid before getting back to it.
Lin Jingjing climbed into a silver Mecha, using a cloth and brush to wipe down the interior.
Partway through cleaning, Lin Jingjing noticed something odd: there was a key still stuck in the ignition.
Curiosity piqued, Lin Jingjing went over and touched the key, her heart pounding with a mix of apprehension and excitement.
She gave it a twist, and the pitch-black interior of the Mecha suddenly lit up.
A robotic voice echoed through the cockpit: "Please connect your spiritual power."
Lin Jingjing had no idea how to connect her spiritual power, but she recalled hearing others describe it in the mess hall.
She did as she'd heard described: focus, then project.
'My spiritual power is only Grade D,' she thought. 'This Mecha has to be Grade B or Grade A at least.'
'There's no way it'll connect.'
But contrary to her expectations, the robotic voice spoke again, making her jump.
"Spiritual power connection successful. Welcome, pilot of I-231."
Lin Jingjing was so shocked she swore out loud. "Holy shit!"
"It actually fucking connected?!"
Lin Jingjing's world was turned upside down. She was Grade D!
'The lowest grade!'
'Well, since it's connected,' she thought, 'I might as well make the most of it.'
She settled into the pilot's seat, her hands tracing the controls and surfaces around her.
Like a curious child, she looked around at everything.
She touched a panel here, fiddled with a switch there.
After her initial exploration, she immediately tried to make the Mecha move. Having never been trained, she could only make it walk in a clumsy, lurching gait.
The commotion drew the attention of the other two, who came over to see what was happening.
"Sister Lin can actually pilot a Mecha!" Feng He said, stunned.
"Sister Lin is just on another level," Shi Feng lamented. "Even in a new place, she's still way ahead of us."
The Mecha continued to stumble about. Lin Jingjing, fed up, was about to shut it down when her hand brushed against something and a beginner's tutorial suddenly appeared on screen.
Lin Jingjing watched the tutorial intently. When it finished, her eyes lit up. 'Piloting a Mecha isn't so hard after all,' she thought.
With newfound confidence, she settled back into the pilot's seat.
Once she had mastered walking and jumping, Lin Jingjing decided to try flying.
But this was where the problems started. The Mecha took flight, but it was moving way too fast.
It shot back and forth across the ceiling of the cleaning bay, startling all three of them.
"Sister Lin, stop!"
"You're going to crash!"
"Sister Lin!"
The two of them shouted from below, but Lin Jingjing couldn't hear a thing. She was completely focused, desperately trying to get the Mecha to stop.
But it was no use.
Finally, the Mecha smashed through a wall and shot outside. The other two immediately ran out after it.