“How much are they paying? 8K??”

Just under two months after the solo mech season concluded, the team mech season has advanced to the Star Alliance competition.

On the First Star Domain's online platforms, a multitude of mech enthusiasts are expressing their disappointment with the team mech competitions' lackluster performance.

"Damn! Stop trashing the team competitions, there's huge news in the solo sector!!"

"What happened!?"

"Sink has retired!"

Without any prior noise, a social media account that had been silent for over a month suddenly posted a new message.

It was a retirement announcement, made by Sink.

At the headquarters of the First Star Domain's Dawnlight Star Mech League, a flood of external communication requests nearly overwhelmed the office's response system. Staff members hurried to manage the public opinion crisis, dealing with an unending stream of messages from media, teams, and fans—

In the Mech League's conference room, Dawnlight Star League Chairman Philip Meg had just finished a call. He sat with his back to the door, and on the large virtual screen in the office, a video was playing.

A black and red mech executed a reverse thrust maneuver in a narrow terrain, flying close to the dangerous landscape while using a fleeting view to complete a perfect counterattack.

In the noisy virtual web, viewers excitedly raised their support signs.

Countless media cameras focused on the victorious mech in the center. The black and red mech shimmered with a cool light under the spotlight, showcasing its astonishing luster. However, all the video material without showing the pilot.

The virtual screen displayed operations from [Sink], a contestant from the Dawnlight Star in the last Star Alliance competition. It was this maneuver that brought down the second Star Domain's seed contestant's mech in the final moments, securing the First Star Domain's first Star Alliance solo competition championship trophy and completing a historic undefeated record in Mech League solo competition history.

The video was captivating, but the title was blood-pressure raising—[sink's Retirement Memoriam].

"Chairman, I know the outside world is abuzz, but you've looped this video five times now."

Half an hour ago, the news of sink's retirement exploded across the star web, dominating several trending topics with public discussion.

Sink, a native of the First Star Domain's Dawnlight Star, rated double S in both physique and mental power. Starting from his first participation in the solo mech elimination matches at 17, he emerged from the most fiercely competitive and brutal circuits to become the First Star Domain's celebrated S-class mech pilot.

Young, physically gifted, and breaking multiple records in the solo mech competition over a little more than a year, including an unbeaten streak and historic achievements, he became an unprecedented Grand Slam winner and the new dominator of solo mech competition.

With Sink bringing home the trophy and breaking the First Star Domain's 5-year championship drought, achieving the first-ever solo Grand Slam... numerous exceptional titles were bestowed upon him, with countless mech fans eagerly anticipating his reign over the solo mech competitions.

Then came the abrupt retirement announcement.

With his departure, the eagerly awaited era came to an abrupt halt.

"It took us so long to finally cultivate a solo mech genius," Philip seemed to age ten years in that moment, watching the near-perfect maneuvers in the video with a heavy sigh. "The genius is gone, can't I reminisce a bit longer?"

Reminiscing was fine, but now the pressure was all on them. Sink was a mech pilot from the Dawnlight Star of the First Star Domain, and his retirement request was approved by their Dawnlight Star Mech League, with the retirement declaration bearing their head office's digital seal.

A staff member spoke up, "Everyone outside is asking why we approved it... Even the First Star Domain's head office has sent communications asking about the reason for the approval. Should we make the reason public?"

"I've already submitted the documents to the Star Domain's head office," Chairman Philip said wearily. "Hold off the news from the outside for a while longer. If anyone asks, just say that Sink's retirement process complied with regulations, and the applicant was Sink himself. We won't disclose any other reasons to protect the player's privacy."

After everyone else had left the conference room, only the video that had been looped for the sixth time remained.

"This kid..." Philip's gaze fell on the desk, where Sink's file was placed, the topmost document being the recently approved retirement application. He flipped past the retirement application, catching a glimpse of a 'medical report' underneath but ultimately decided not to open it.

Such a talented individual, to have encountered this illness.

Shortly after, the conference room door opened again.

Philip looked back as a staff member politely knocked on the door, "Sorry to interrupt your reminiscing, Chairman."

He handed over a document, "Regarding the issue with the K&D team's repairman violating regulations, new evidence has been submitted."

---

The star web was abuzz with speculation about the reasons behind Sink's retirement.

The Dawnlight Star Mech League had clear regulations allowing the registration of professional mech pilots from the age of 17, but Star Alliance laws protected minors under 18. 

Sink was an anomaly, breaking mech league records at a rapid pace and becoming the first minor professional player in league history. Due to Star Alliance protection laws, he had never appeared in public up to his retirement, making him a mysterious figure in the eyes of mech fans. His sudden retirement stirred up a storm of speculation.

The Dawnlight Star Mech League, aside from necessary procedural explanations, did not elaborate further on Sink's situation.

Discussions about Sink's retirement went on for a long time. Some said he retired to preserve his glory, others speculated it was due to injury... There were many theories, but sink himself seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, without a trace.

As another month passed by, the star web found new topics to discuss.

In today's world, where peaceful regions intersect with polluted ones, separated and isolated, mech sports have risen to prominence within the Star Alliance as a newly esteemed sport, with its popularity climbing year by year. The scheduling of solo and team mech competitions is largely staggered, with solo mech events just kicking off across various star domains while the team mech season has just concluded.

Transfer periods, major team overhauls, and powerful alliances between mech pilots... these have always been hot topics in the team mech scene.

Amid these discussions, a league punishment list has garnered significant attention, detailing the infractions and sanctions for various teams and members, sparking widespread debate.

Among these penalties, a notable mention was the punishment of a mech repairman from the K&D team based in Sirius.

Mech repairman in service, acting as the medical team for their mech squad, are bound to adhere to the rules set by the Mech Sports League. The K&D team's repairman was reported for colluding with investors and leaking battle mech data before a match, an infraction deemed severe enough to warrant league sanctions and legal responsibilities.

Leaking data, in the context of a competition, is akin to exposing all of K&D's mech secrets, where a slight oversight can mean the difference between life and death.

Such egregious incidents are rare in the Dawnlight Star Mech League.

[Heard the whistleblower was one of K&D's own pilots. But man, K&D's really been through it, from the major management overhaul and pilots leaving, to now, not a single piece of good news.]

[Isn't K&D basically a ragtag bunch now? Already fell out of the top 8, probably won't even make the top 16 next season, looks like they're about to disband.]

There's a lot of sympathy for K&D, but just as many are watching their struggles.

With dismal season results, team splits, and personnel departures... and now a technician scandal, the whole net is awaiting K&D's disbandment announcement.

But amid this storm of public opinion, the long-silent official K&D account posted a message—

[@K&D Mech Base: Riding the wave of attention, we're hiring technicians 😊 [photo]]

The star web's crowd of onlookers rushed over, and upon opening the link, they found — a base salary of 8000 credits per month, additional project shares, competition bonuses to be discussed separately, and board and lodging included.

The recruitment notice was brief compared to the lengthy announcements from other teams hiring technicians. K&D's job posting could be quickly skimmed, especially the last part about the salary.

"8000 credits/month? "

"Project shares? "

"Competition bonuses negotiable? "

"Board and lodging included?"

"Are they hiring a repairman or an assistant?"

"How much are they paying? 8K??"

"As everyone knows, K&D is broke, don't go there."

The requirements indeed weren't high, nor was the salary.

The netizens, initially feeling sorry for K&D due to their data being sold, immediately retracted their sympathetic words upon seeing the salary offer.

K&D's financial struggles are well-known, especially after the management overhaul the year before last and investors bailing... Now, K&D's management essentially boils down to just the owner, Pearl Robinson, running the team's operations on a tight budget. Compared to the lavish spending of other powerhouse teams, K&D seems like a small workshop.

[Speechless, It's one thing to be frugal, but how can you justify not investing more in a crucial role like a repairman?"]

[Repairmanare so rare, are you trying to scam fools with this salary?]