The Teleporter

"Do you know where Tu Ran is?" Ding Naiqing couldn't help asking.

"No, they haven't said a word about it," Qi Tongda shook his head.

Ding Naiqing drooped his head. "Do you think Sister Tu Ran knows we're in this world too?"

Zhou Ming turned his head and sneered. "What, you think she'd come rescue you?"

Ding Naiqing shot him a glare. Since they were in adjacent cells, he could only see half of Zhou Ming's face, but that was enough. "Shut up. I wasn't talking to you."

"Tch." Zhou Ming rolled his eyes. He didn't want to talk to him either. He returned to his bed, propped himself against the pillow, crossed his legs, and swung one foot lazily.

Anyway, with this many people keeping him company, he wasn't in a hurry.

The others fell silent, each retreating to their own bed, sitting or lying down.

For these people, tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.

...

The next day, at the first crack of dawn, Tu Ran was roused by Tang Ying.

Tu Ran tidied up hastily and followed her, sleepy-eyed, toward the helicopter waiting on the training ground.

Ye Hongci was already in the cabin waiting for them.

It was only the three of them plus a pilot on board. The helicopter lifted off smoothly, flying toward the destination against the morning sun.

"How was your rest last night?" Ye Hongci set aside a stack of paper documents and looked up at Tu Ran.

"Decent." Tu Ran yawned. It would've been even better if she could've slept a little longer, though she'd already had more than enough sleep.

"You'll have even less time for sleep from now on. Be prepared," Ye Hongci reminded her gently.

Tu Ran nodded. "I know."

Ye Hongci said no more, leaning back slightly against the seat, closing her eyes to rest.

The helicopter landed.

Fully armed soldiers stood around the helipad holding their weapons, on high alert.

Ye Hongci jumped off the helicopter, with Tu Ran and Tang Ying following closely behind.

"Salute!" The soldiers snapped to attention and saluted Ye Hongci in unison, their voices booming.

Ye Hongci gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Tu Ran followed behind Ye Hongci toward the official car parked nearby. Soldiers in straight postures and stern faces lined both sides of the path, their gazes following Ye Hongci with undisguised respect and admiration.

The golden light of the morning sun fell on Ye Hongci's figure, casting an extremely long shadow. For the first time, Tu Ran truly felt that she was a commander—one who could lead an army of thousands and gallop across a battlefield.

They drove for more than half an hour after getting in the car, the windows kept shut, so Tu Ran couldn't see outside.

When they got out again, a colossal human-made structure stood before her. Against the backdrop of an endless wilderness, this edifice of steel and iron resembled a steel lion lying upon the wasteland, commanding awe and reverence.

Facing this building, all the man-made structures Tu Ran had ever seen paled in comparison. Even though she'd been through two worlds before this, no building had ever struck her with such overwhelming impact.

Ye Hongci was escorted away by soldiers who'd been waiting there, while Tu Ran was led by Tang Ying to choose a mecha for the battlefield.

Inside the mecha hangar, Tu Ran stood among a crowd of mechs, gazing up at those towering like mountains, unable to tear her eyes away.

These mechs were several times larger than the ones used in training—comparable to a hundred-meter skyscraper.

A tiny human piloting such a huge mech to fight alien beasts of the same size—how much Mental Energy would that consume? Tu Ran couldn't even imagine.

"This mech is a light model. It's easier to control, more agile in body, faster in reaction, but its attack power is weak—nowhere near a heavy mech," Tang Ying introduced the pure-white mech standing before them.

Tu Ran thought: so even this huge thing is just a light mech.

They walked over to another, even bigger mech. "Heavy mech. Its strength is twice that of a light mech, it can tear alien beasts apart with its bare hands, and its defense is extremely strong—but it lacks agility."

Tu Ran walked around the mech to examine it while Tang Ying stood still. "All the mechs here are these two types. Each one's stats may vary slightly, but overall the feel isn't much different. Heavy or light, which one will you pick?"

Without hesitation, Tu Ran chose light.

Her strength lay in her speed. If the mech's speed couldn't match hers, it would only drag her down and reduce her combat effectiveness.

"Light mechs come in two subcategories: one type has wings and can fly, like the red mech your instructor piloted. It's suited for aerial combat, generally used against flying-type alien beasts. The other type is the combat mech you used in training—ground combat only, but its land combat capability is stronger than the flying type."

"I never learned to pilot a flying mech," Tu Ran said. "I'll take the ground-combat one."

"Alright. Then these are the ones that fit your requirements." As Tang Ying spoke, a holographic screen appeared before them, displaying mechs of various colors and designs for Tu Ran to choose from.

Tu Ran flipped through a few, her eyes glazing over. Finally, she went back to the pure-white mech they'd seen at the entrance and pointed at it. "This one."

Tang Ying only glanced up and said flatly, "This mech has very high flexibility and speed, but its defense is weak—it can't take a hit. It's been sent back to the factory for adjustments four or five times, and the data hasn't improved. Are you sure you want it?"

Tu Ran hesitated, then quickly switched to the next one—a gleaming gold mech that looked extremely expensive.

"This one has outstanding stats in every aspect, but it consumes 1.5 times more Mental Energy than other mechs."

Tu Ran: "..." She could tolerate anything except high Mental Energy consumption.

She switched to another one—a violet-gold mech that exuded luxury with understated elegance.

Tang Ying glanced at it. "This one has no obvious flaws."

Tu Ran felt a flicker of joy. Finally, a suitable one. "Then this—"

"But it has no standout qualities either," Tang Ying cut her off. "It's mediocre. In speed and agility, it loses to the first one you picked. In defense, it loses to the second. In Mental Energy consumption, it only saves a little compared to the second."

Tu Ran swept her gaze around the entire hangar. "So there's not a single mech here that's good in every aspect and doesn't drain Mental Energy?"

Tang Ying looked up from the screen, expressionless. "No."

Tu Ran thought: Fine, a poor girl like me is asking for too much.

"Then I'll take the white one," Tu Ran said, settling on the first choice.

At least it had one advantage.

Speed was enough. She'd do her best to keep the alien beasts from touching the mech at all.

Once she had enough Mental Energy, she definitely wanted to try out that gleaming gold mech and see just how draining it really was.

The mech selection complete, Tang Ying led Tu Ran to the departure point.

A massive open-air teleportation device.

From afar, a colossal blue ring rose from the ground, its light screen covering the earth beneath, with streaks of silver light darting through it freely.

Tu Ran piloted her mech and took position outside the ring, with Tang Ying standing beside her.

Tang Ying piloted a fiery-red light mech. Unlike the stock mech Tu Ran had picked in the hangar, Tang Ying's mech was custom-built to match her years of combat data—tailored to her abilities, accentuating strengths and compensating for weaknesses, with a more refined exterior.

"Which planet are we going to?" Tu Ran asked, linking her mech's comm to Tang Ying's from the cockpit.

"Planet 4344."

The Haendeng Galaxy wasn't just six planets. The Main Planet and its five subsidiary planets had large land areas, more suitable for human habitation, making them densely populated major worlds.

But the Haendeng Galaxy also contained hundreds upon hundreds of smaller planets. Most of these were less than a tenth the size of the major ones. Some had harsh environments unfit for human habitation and no reclamation value; others had sparse human settlements with very low population density.

These small planets were scattered haphazardly among the major ones, named by numerical designations.

The so-called battlefront was on these small planets.

The true confrontation between humanity and the alien beasts was for control of these small worlds.

Every time the beasts took one small planet, they'd use it as a foothold to spread outward.

If the beasts captured a small planet near a major one, the next stop would be the densely populated Main Planet. That was how Wasteland Star II and Wasteland Star III had fallen.