Chapter 282 – Controlling the Mecha
Some alien species were still quite cute, like Pangpang.
The alien beasts were purely bizarre and ugly non-human species.
They had limbs where they shouldn’t, and a big mouth where eyes should have been. They were just as ugly as they could be.
The moment the projection of the alien beast appeared, amidst everyone’s gasps of surprise, Tu Ran was also stunned and couldn’t help but mumble, “Aren’t these things supposed to be managed by Ultraman?”
“What?” Ai Meigui leaned closer to Tu Ran and shouted, “It was too loud just now; could you say that again?”
Tu Ran shook her head, her gaze not leaving the alien beast, “It’s nothing; it’s just that this alien beast is really big, even bigger than the ones I saw on the wasteland star.” She still hadn’t forgotten her character setting.
Hearing this, Ai Meigui frowned, “I heard that the alien beasts on the front lines were evolving and becoming stronger. In contrast, humans have only made a bit of progress since the alien beasts first appeared, and now each generation is worse than the last.”
Tu Ran sighed inwardly; this chaotic universe truly made life difficult in every world.
After everyone witnessed the enormity of the alien beast, its projection briefly vanished for a moment. The next second, a mecha created by humanity’s great mecha designers appeared in front of everyone.
“So cool…”
“Ahhh…”
“I want one…”
The crowd erupted in waves of astonished exclamations.
Although everyone had seen the appearance of mechas in media reports before, nothing compared to the shock of seeing them in person now.
At that moment, one could more intuitively feel the size of the mecha, comparable to the alien beasts, practically like a towering skyscraper on the move. Every component of the mecha was crafted with precision, aesthetically coordinated, and the cold, mechanical beauty radiated from every corner. The reflective armor plates exuded a chilling aura, and in its hand, the mecha wielded a massive sword, its blade gleaming coldly and harmoniously integrated with the mecha itself.
It was unimaginable that such a lethal creation could arise from the insignificance of humanity.
In the brief years since the alien beasts had appeared, the mecha designers of that generation must have possessed immense determination, willpower, wisdom, and creativity.
After all the trainees gained a basic understanding of the alien beasts and mechas, the instructors led everyone to the individual simulation rooms.
The individual simulation room was essentially a virtual cockpit, making it the best choice for students just starting to learn about mechas. It allowed them to quickly familiarize themselves with the mecha’s interior without worrying about damaging the mecha or the resources consumed.
Tu Ran entered her mecha simulation room, sat down in the chair, and placed her limbs in the designated positions. She leaned her head back against the chair, and a brain connection device automatically descended from above, enveloping her head.
In the next moment, the scene in front of Tu Ran changed. She found herself standing in a confined space, facing a complex control platform filled with constantly changing data and various colored buttons, all designed to control the mech.
Tu Ran looked up, and an endless plain appeared before her eyes, as if she were standing atop a mountain. This was the perspective from within her mecha; she could look down upon everything.
Now inside the mecha, she looked through the viewport and saw beams of light continuously descending onto the plain. As the beams dissipated, new mechas landed one after another.
Everyone had gathered in this virtual world.
The instructor was also among them.
The instructor’s mecha was a bright red, standing out strikingly among the many silver and gray mechas.
“Next, I will teach you how to operate the mecha. Please concentrate. Every point of knowledge will be reflected in the process of operating the mecha later. I will know exactly who wasn’t paying attention in class,” the instructor’s stern voice echoed from within each trainee’s mecha cockpit, as if the instructor were speaking right into their ears.
Tu Ran perked up her ears and focused.
“The data in the upper left corner of the mecha control panel represents the various indicators of the mecha you are operating, including damage level, energy consumption, attack power, mental energy reserves, and so on. These are dynamically changing; every second during combat will see changes in these metrics, so you must always pay attention to these fluctuations and adjust accordingly.”
“The middle section of the mecha control panel…”
The instructor systematically introduced the function of each component of the mecha control panel. Tu Ran engaged all her brain cells, memorizing every word without missing anything.
Unlike her struggle to memorize the control panel’s functions, most of the other trainees had prior exposure to mecha operation panels.
There were many virtual mecha control rooms in the civilian sector, and the control panel functions were quite similar to this one.
For them, the instructor’s explanations were straightforward; they only needed to listen to the parts they didn’t understand.
Three hours later, the instructor completed the basics of mecha operation and allowed everyone to practice freely. The instructor then opened the mecha’s wings and flew into the air to observe everyone’s performance.
The others were eager to start their free practice. Once the instructor gave the order, they eagerly manipulated their mechas to perform basic actions like running and jumping; some could even execute backflips with their mechas.
Tu Ran closed her eyes for a moment, organizing the knowledge she had learned over the past three hours into categories in her mind before opening them again. She looked at the control panel in front of her, took a deep breath, and began to glide her fingers over the panel, controlling the mecha to move forward.
She successfully and smoothly took her first step.
It was much easier than she had imagined, and Tu Ran’s confidence grew.
The second step followed quickly, but an unexpected issue arose. Her raised foot didn’t have enough height, causing the mecha’s foot to stumble slightly on the ground, throwing its body off balance and beginning to tilt.
Tu Ran hurriedly maneuvered the mecha’s arm to support its falling body in an attempt to save the situation, but in her panic, she misjudged the direction and ended up face-planting onto the ground.
During this process, her fingers were still flailing on the control panel, pressing random buttons in her frantic attempt to regain control, resulting in a comical and awkward fall.
She was the first to fall among all the mechas present, naturally drawing more attention.
The instructor also flew over to her side, his voice coming from above, “Have you never operated a mecha control panel before?”
Tu Ran struggled to get the mecha back on its feet. The complex maneuver caused her to fall several more times without succeeding. In between her attempts, she managed to respond to the instructor’s question, “No, this is my first time.”
The instructor seemed to recall something. “Are you the Tu Ran who came from the wasteland star?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will have to work harder than the others; they all have some basic training.”
“Yes,” Tu Ran replied, but her mind was occupied with figuring out how to coordinate her movements to get the mecha upright. Staying in this position on the ground wasn’t an option.
After observing her struggling on the ground for a while, the instructor shook his head and flew off to another area.
After trying five or six more times, Tu Ran finally managed to stand up in a rather awkward position.
From the outside, it looked like she was lying on her back on the ground, her abdomen raised, with both legs and arms supporting her. Gradually, she brought her legs and arms closer together and then used her lower back to propel her upper body upward, and the mecha stood upright.
Tu Ran wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Fortunately, this mecha has a good waist.”
…
Once all the trainees gained a deeper understanding of the mechas, the instructor announced that class was over, and everyone could leave the virtual practice room.
Tu Ran was reluctant to leave; she had just begun to feel comfortable with the mecha and wanted to continue practicing while the momentum was with her. She privately messaged the instructor, “Instructor, when does the virtual practice room close?”
“You still want to practice?” the instructor saw through her intentions.
“Yeah, I’m still far behind the others.”
“There’s no curfew here.”
Implying that she could practice as much as she wanted.
“Great!” Tu Ran felt a surge of joy in her heart.
She then contacted Ai Meigui, “You can go eat first; I want to practice a bit more, so you don’t have to wait for me.”
“Ah? Not eating? Aren’t you hungry? Should I bring you some food?”
Tu Ran’s reputation for being enthusiastic about meals was already deeply ingrained in her mind.
“No, I didn’t do much this afternoon, so I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, okay, then I’ll head out.” As soon as Ai Meigui finished speaking, the mecha she had been controlling vanished from its spot.
One by one, the mechas on the plain disappeared until only Tu Ran remained there alone.
The virtual world felt incredibly real. While it was eight o’clock in the evening in the real world, the virtual sky had transitioned from daylight to night.
Tu Ran stood alone in the quiet wilderness, settling her mind to feel the flow of mental energy within her body.
The ten thousand units of mental energy she had been rewarded had already been infused into her.
The display board showed her mental energy collection progress: 2%.
Following the methods the instructor had taught in class, Tu Ran began to spread her mental energy from her body to envelop the entire mech. She focused on sensing each component of the mecha, injecting her thoughts into the cold parts, striving to integrate her body with the mecha and achieve the highest level of control.
She moved her right leg, extended her left arm, moved her left leg, and extended her right arm.
She walked slowly, then quickened her pace to a run, jumped, leaped, performed somersaults, threw punches, and kicked…
Tu Ran became increasingly agile in controlling the mecha, executing a variety of complex movements. In the end, she even performed a series of combination punches, showcasing all the fighting techniques she typically used.
The mecha had completely become one with her.
Tu Ran was very satisfied with the result; the tension in her mind eased, and she suddenly felt a pang of hunger.
She wondered if the cafeteria was still open at this hour.
Glancing at the time displayed next to the mecha control panel, she saw it was eight o’clock.
Eight o’clock?!
Tu Ran’s eyes widened in disbelief. What was happening?
Perhaps because she had encountered so many chaotic supernatural phenomena, her first thought was that time had paused.
But when beams of light began to appear one after another, with new mechas landing continuously, she realized it wasn’t a pause in time; she had unknowingly practiced for twelve hours.
“Tu Ran, you didn’t come back to the dorm yesterday. Did you stay here the whole time?”
Ai Meigui appeared on the screen in the upper right corner of her mecha.
Tu Ran absentmindedly nodded.
She was very hungry and still tired. As she relaxed her mind, drowsiness washed over her, and all she wanted was a bed to sleep on.
“Tu Ran, do you know how heavy your dark circles are right now?” Ai Meigui leaned closer to the screen, and from Tu Ran’s perspective, her face appeared enlarged. “You look like you’ve been punched twice by a boxer, and you have to endure training all day today. How are you going to manage?”
Tu Ran’s eyelids drooped as she leaned against the cockpit wall of the mecha, feeling lethargic. “I can manage. Don’t worry, I’m hanging up.”
She ended the video call with Ai Meigui and instantly felt more alert. She pressed the exit button, and the scene in front of her changed, lying back down in the chair. The brain connection device was rising back to its original position, and before it fully ascended, Tu Ran jumped off the chair.
In the cramped simulation room, she stealthily glanced around, ensuring she identified the locations of several cameras before moving to a corner and squatting down, facing the wall. This way, the cameras couldn’t capture her face or see what her hands were doing.
She activated “Shadow Storage,” took out a recovery agent from her space, quickly injected it into her body, tossed the empty syringe back into the space, and then pulled out a bottle of nutrient solution, drinking it down in a few gulps before tossing the bottle back as well.
After finishing all this, Tu Ran stood up and casually looked around again, moving her limbs a bit before walking back to the chair, reattaching the brain connection device, and entering the virtual world.
The plain had already become lively, and the sky was brightening. The instructor’s striking red mecha descended from the sky, the flames beneath its feet extinguishing as it landed steadily.
His gaze swept across all the mechas present, finally landing on Tu Ran.
The data from the virtual simulation room was uploaded in real-time; he could see everything the people inside did and for how long.
When he routinely reviewed the data from the previous day that morning, he noticed that Tu Ran had stayed in there all night long, practicing for a full twelve hours. He specifically checked her results from the last hour of practice and was astounded to see that she could already manipulate the mecha in combat. For a moment, he couldn’t believe this was the result of just one night’s effort.
While controlling a mecha wasn’t particularly difficult, it certainly wasn’t that simple either. To master it in a single night, almost intuitively, was something he had never heard of in the history of the Haenden star system.
General Ye had been closely monitoring Tu Ran’s progress and he immediately reported this to her. After watching the playback, General Ye ordered him to accelerate Tu Ran’s training.
“Today, I will teach you all how to operate the mecha to attack the alien beasts. Each of you should choose a weapon that suits you.”
After he finished speaking, a virtual screen appeared before everyone, displaying a variety of weapons.
Tu Ran jumped straight to the page for ranged weapons, but it was blank.
“Why are there no ranged weapons?” Some of the others, having made the same choice as Tu Ran, voiced their confusion.
“Today, the focus is on close combat, while also enhancing your proficiency in using the mecha. There are no ranged weapons,” the instructor explained.
Amidst the collective sighs of disappointment, Tu Ran chose a large machete.
The reason was simple: it looked cool and complemented her silver-gray mecha perfectly.
She skillfully manipulated the mecha’s arm, twirling the machete with agility. The blade’s glimmer reflected against the mecha’s silver exterior, exuding a cold yet vibrant allure.
The people standing nearby were focused on one thing: how could she wield the machete so nimbly?!
Wasn’t she unable to even walk properly just yesterday?!
The other students exchanged glances; although they couldn’t see each other’s eyes, they were certain they all shared the same astonishment.
Was it normal for someone to improve so quickly in just one night?!
Ai Meigui didn’t think too much about it; she immediately praised, “Tu Ran, you’re amazing!!”
