Operating the Mecha

Some were even somewhat cute, like Fatty.

But alien beasts were purely grotesque, ugly non-human creatures.

They had limbs growing where limbs shouldn't be, and mouths where eyes should be—just ugly in every possible way.

The moment the alien beast's projection appeared, amidst everyone's gasps, Tu Ran was dumbfounded too, muttering involuntarily, "Isn't this the kind of thing Ultraman is supposed to handle?"

"What?" Ai Meigui leaned close to Tu Ran and shouted, "It was too noisy just now; say it again."

Tu Ran shook her head, her gaze not leaving the beast. "Nothing, just that this beast is huge—bigger than anything I saw on Wasteland Star." She hadn't forgotten her cover story.

Ai Meigui frowned at that. "I heard the beasts at the front lines are evolving, getting stronger. Meanwhile, humans—except for the initial progress when the beasts first appeared—are just getting worse and worse."

Tu Ran sighed inwardly. This chaotic universe really didn't let anyone have an easy time.

After everyone had witnessed the beast's enormity, the projection vanished for a moment. The next second, a mecha created by humanity's greatest mecha engineers appeared before their eyes.

"So cool..."

"Ahhh..."

"I want one..."

Wave after wave of exclamations rose from the crowd.

Although everyone had seen mecha exteriors in media and news before, nothing compared to seeing one in person.

Now they could truly appreciate the mecha's scale—comparable to the alien beast, like a towering moving building. Every component was exquisitely crafted, coordinated and beautiful. A cold, mechanical aesthetic radiated from every corner. The reflective armor plating exuded an aura of killing intent, and the mecha wielded a large blade in its hand, its gleaming edge perfectly integrated with the machine.

It was hard to imagine that mere humans could create something so devastating. In just the few short years since the alien beasts appeared, how much determination, perseverance, wisdom, and creativity must that generation of mecha engineers have possessed?

After all the trainees had a basic understanding of alien beasts and mecha, the instructors led everyone to their individual simulation rooms.

The personal simulation room was a virtual cockpit—the best choice for beginners learning to pilot mecha. It allowed them to quickly familiarize themselves with the mecha's interior without worrying about damaging the machine or consuming resources.

Tu Ran entered her mecha simulation room, sat in the chair, placed her limbs in the designated positions, and leaned her head back. A neural link device descended from above and settled over her head.

In the next instant, the scene before Tu Ran shifted. She stood in a cramped space, facing a complex console covered in constantly changing data and buttons of various colors, all used to control the mecha.

Tu Ran looked up. An endless plain stretched before her, as if she were standing on a mountaintop. This was her mecha's perspective—she could look down on everything.

She was now inside the mecha. Through the viewport, beams of light continuously descended from the sky onto the plain. As the light dissipated, brand-new mecha touched down one after another.

Everyone had gathered in this virtual world.

The instructor was there as well.

The instructor's mecha was bright red, standing out vividly among the crowd of silver-gray machines.

"Next, I'll teach you how to operate the mecha. Please focus. Every piece of knowledge will be reflected in your piloting shortly. Those of you who don't pay attention—I'll know instantly." The instructor's stern voice echoed from within everyone's cockpit, as if he were speaking right into their ears.

Tu Ran perked up and paid close attention.

"The data in the upper-left corner of the control panel shows your mecha's various metrics: damage level, energy consumption, attack power, mental energy reserve, and so on. These are dynamic—they change every second in combat. You must always keep an eye on them and adjust accordingly."

"The center of the control panel..."

The instructor explained the function of every component of the control panel one by one. Tu Ran marshaled every brain cell and committed it all to memory without missing a word.

Unlike her struggling to memorize the control panel functions, most of the other reserves had already been exposed to mecha controls before.

In the civilian world, there were many virtual mecha training rooms, and their control panels were largely similar to this one.

The instructor's explanations were nothing special to them—they only needed to listen for things they didn't already know.

Three hours later, the instructor finished teaching the basics of mecha operations and let everyone practice freely. He opened his mecha's wings, flew into the air, and observed everyone's performance.

The others had been itching to practice on their own. As soon as the instructor gave the order, they all started operating their mecha for basic movements like running and jumping. Some could even do backflips.

Tu Ran closed her eyes, organized the three hours of knowledge she'd absorbed in her mind, then opened them again. She stared at the control panel, took a deep breath, and slid her fingers across the panel to move the mecha forward.

She took the first step smoothly and steadily.

It was easier than she'd imagined. Her confidence surged.

The second step followed, but then things went wrong. She didn't lift her foot high enough, and the mecha's foot caught on the ground. The machine wobbled and began to tilt.

Tu Ran quickly tried to use the mecha's arm to brace itself, but in her haste, she sent the arm in the wrong direction and ended up falling flat on her face.

Throughout the process, her fingers kept fumbling across the control panel, pressing buttons at random, which resulted in her hitting the ground in the most awkward, contorted pose imaginable.

She was the first among all the mecha present to fall, which naturally drew plenty of attention.

The instructor flew over to her, his voice coming from above. "Never touched a mecha control panel before?"

Tu Ran struggled to get the mecha back up off the ground. The difficult maneuver made her fall several more times before she could rise. She took a moment to answer. "No, first time."

The instructor thought for a moment. "You're Tu Ran from Wasteland Star?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll have to work harder than the others. They all have some foundation."

"Yes." Tu Ran agreed verbally, but in her mind, she was figuring out how to coordinate the controls to get the mecha upright. She couldn't just lie here forever.

The instructor watched her pathetic struggles for a moment, shook his head, and flew off elsewhere.

After trying five or six more times, Tu Ran managed to stand up in a bizarre fashion.

From the outside, the mecha looked like it was lying on its back, belly arched upward, supported by two legs and two arms. She gradually retracted her limbs, then with a back-bend motion, whipped her upper body forward—and the mecha was standing.

Tu Ran wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Good thing this mecha has a flexible waist."

...

Once all the trainees had a deeper understanding of their mecha, the instructor announced they were done and that everyone could leave the virtual training room on their own.

Tu Ran didn't want to leave just yet. She was just starting to feel familiar with the mecha and wanted to keep practicing while the momentum was there. She privately contacted the instructor. "Instructor, when does the virtual training room close?"

"You want to keep training?" The instructor saw through her intention.

"Yes, I'm still far behind everyone else."

"There's no curfew here."

In other words, she could practice as much as she wanted.

"Okay." Tu Ran felt a surge of joy.

She contacted Ai Meigui. "Go eat without me. I'll keep practicing for a while. Don't wait for me."

"Huh? Not eating? Aren't you hungry? Should I bring you something?"

Tu Ran's reputation as an enthusiastic eater was deeply ingrained in her friend's mind.

"No need. I didn't do much activity this afternoon, so I'm not hungry."

"Oh, alright then. I'm off." Ai Meigui's voice had barely faded when her mecha vanished on the spot.

The mecha on the plain disappeared one by one, until only she remained.

This virtual world was very realistic. It was eight in the evening in the real world, and in the virtual world, the sky shifted from day to night.

Tu Ran stood alone on the silent plain, calmed her mind, and felt the flow of mental energy within her body.

The ten-thousand mental energy reward had already been infused into her.

The counter showed mental energy collection progress: 2%.

Following the method the instructor had taught, Tu Ran spread her mental energy outward, enveloping the entire mecha. She felt every component, channeling her thoughts into the cold metal, fusing her body with the machine to reach the highest level of mecha control.

Out with the right leg, extend the left arm; out with the left leg, extend the right arm.

Slow walking, brisk walking, running, jumping, leaping, somersaults, hooks, kicks...

Tu Ran's control over the mecha grew increasingly fluid. Complex maneuvers came one after another. Finally, she even executed a combination punch sequence, running through all the fighting moves she normally used.

The mecha had become one with her.

Tu Ran was quite pleased with the result. The tension in her mind relaxed, and only then did she feel a pang of hunger.

She wondered if the cafeteria was still open at this hour.

She glanced at the time on the mecha's console.

Eight o'clock.

Eight o'clock?!

Tu Ran's eyes went wide. What was going on?

Perhaps because she'd seen so many strange abilities, her first thought was that time had frozen.

But when beams of light began to streak down one after another and mecha landed, she realized time hadn't frozen—she'd been practicing for twelve hours without realizing it.

"Sister Tu Ran, you didn't come back to the dorm last night? You've been here all along?"

Ai Meigui appeared on the screen at the upper right of her mecha.

Tu Ran nodded absently.

She was starving and exhausted. Now that her mind had relaxed, fatigue swept over her, and all she wanted was a bed.

"Sister Tu Ran, do you know how dark the circles under your eyes are?" Ai Meigui leaned close to the screen, her face filling the view from Tu Ran's side. "It looks like you got punched twice. We've got a full day of training today—how are you going to hold up?"

Tu Ran's eyelids drooped as she leaned against the cockpit wall, listless. "I'll manage. Don't worry. Over and out."

Tu Ran ended the call with Ai Meigui, then perked up instantly. She pressed the exit button. The scene before her shifted, and she was back in the chair. The neural link device was still retracting, but she didn't wait for it to fully rise before jumping out of the seat.

In the cramped simulation room, she furtively looked around and identified the positions of several cameras. Then she moved to a corner, squatted down facing the wall, so the cameras couldn't see her face or what her hands were doing.

She activated "Shadow Storage," pulled out a recovery serum from her space, and quickly injected it into her body. She tossed the empty syringe back into her space, took out a bottle of nutrient solution, drank it in a few gulps, and put the bottle away too.

When she was done, Tu Ran stood up, casually scanned her surroundings, stretched her arms and legs, walked back to the chair, and put the neural link device back on to re-enter the virtual world.

The plain had already come alive, and the sky had brightened. The instructor's eye-catching red mecha descended from above, its foot thrusters extinguishing as he landed steadily.

His gaze swept across all the mecha present, then stopped on Tu Ran.

The virtual training room's data was uploaded in real time—he could see what people did and how long they spent there.

This morning, when he reviewed yesterday's data as usual, he saw that Tu Ran had spent the entire night there—twelve whole hours—practicing nonstop. He'd specifically pulled up the recording of her final hour and watched her piloting the mecha in combat-style maneuvers. He couldn't believe this was the result of a single night.

Operating a mecha wasn't the hardest thing in the world, but it certainly wasn't easy either. To master it overnight, nearly without any instruction, was something he'd never heard of in the entire history of the Haendeng Galaxy.

Chief Ye had been keeping a close eye on Tu Ran's progress. The instructor immediately reported the matter to Chief Ye, who reviewed the playback and ordered him to accelerate Tu Ran's training separately.

"Today I'll teach you how to operate the mecha to attack alien beasts. Each of you, pick a weapon of your choice."

As he spoke, a virtual screen appeared before everyone, displaying a vast array of weapons.

Tu Ran immediately jumped to the ranged weapons page—but it was blank.

"Why are there no ranged weapons?" Others who'd made the same choice voiced the question aloud.

"Today's focus is close-quarters combat, along with reinforcing your proficiency in mecha operation. No ranged weapons," the instructor said.

Amid a chorus of sighs, Tu Ran selected a large cleaver.

No particular reason—it just looked cool and fit the silver-gray mecha perfectly.

She moved the mecha's arm in a smooth flourish, the blade glinting in harmony with the mecha's silver hull—cold, yet dazzling.

Those standing nearby, however, were more focused on one question: how was she so agile with that blade already?!

Hadn't she just learned to walk yesterday?!

The trainees exchanged glances. Though they couldn't see each other's eyes, they were certain everyone else was just as stunned.

Who progresses this fast in one night? Is she even human?!

Ai Meigui, on the other hand, didn't overthink it—she just cheered. "Sister Tu Ran, you're amazing!!"