Chapter 22: Real Combat
Su Ming sprinted toward Training Mech No. 3, while Ming Ke and Chen Tong headed for the remaining Mechs No. 4 and No. 5. The four quickly climbed onto the metal platforms and entered the cockpits of their respective mechs.
As Su Ming adjusted his seat and activated the safety harness, preparing to start the mech, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw numerous missed calls from his mother. He immediately answered.
"Hello?"
"My son! You finally picked up! Are you alright? Your father and I were worried sick!" Zhao Ning's voice trembled, on the verge of tears.
"I'm fine. I'm inside a big hunk of metal, completely safe."
"A hunk of metal?"
"It's a training mech!" Su Ming explained briefly.
"That's my boy, so smart!" Su Yuan's voice joined in, full of pride and relief.
"Dad, Mom, I can't talk now. I need to go fight and save people."
"What? No! It's too dangerous—"
Su Ming ended the call abruptly.
At that moment, Tang Yan had already started his mech and asked, "Are you all ready?"
Ming Ke and Chen Tong activated their mechs and responded in unison, "Ready!"
However, Su Ming's mech was still inactive. Tang Yan and the others turned to him in confusion. "Su Ming, what's the holdup?"
"Sorry, just got delayed for a moment. I'm ready now!" Su Ming quickly started his mech and replied.
Tang Yan let out a sigh of relief before speaking sternly. "Remember, no one is to open their cockpit until the battle is over. As mech pilots, your mech is your most important body!"
"Understood!" Su Ming and the others nodded firmly.
"Let's move!" Tang Yan ordered, and he marched his mech toward the exit.
Su Ming and the others followed suit.
Clank, clank, clank.
Tang Yan's mech moved quickly out of the training ground. After covering some distance, he noticed something odd. Looking around, he saw that Su Ming and the others were far behind, moving sluggishly.
"Ugh, you three can take your time. I'll go on ahead!" Tang Yan didn't have time to wait. The situation outside was already critical.
"Got it!" the trio replied in unison.
Tang Yan's expression hardened, his demeanor shifting into one of battle-hardened determination. He pushed the power lever forward.
Boom!
Twin thrusters on Ironhead's back roared to life, spewing fiery exhaust as the mech took off, skimming just above the ground with impressive speed and agility.
"Whoa! That's so cool!" Ming Ke exclaimed, awestruck.
"Tch, what's so surprising about that? Mr. Tang Yan served over a decade in the frontlines as part of a professional mech unit. He's a veteran! Not just anyone gets to teach mech classes," Chen Tong said with a smug tone.
"Enough chatter. Let's hurry up. If we show up after the fight's over, we'll look ridiculous." Su Ming carefully accelerated his mech, while Ming Ke and Chen Tong clumsily maneuvered theirs to follow.
Suddenly, the artificial sun that had dimmed earlier lit up again, transforming the night into day. The entire District 13 had initiated an artificial day-night override.
Su Ming looked up, amazed. The artificial sun was truly impressive, illuminating everything instantly and vastly improving visibility.
Unfortunately, the manual nature of this system meant it wasn't as efficient as intelligent automated systems, causing a slight delay. Though just a small delay, it could still be critical in such situations.
Shaking off his thoughts, Su Ming refocused on piloting his mech toward the battlefield.
A few minutes later, the trio arrived near the dormitory area. The scene was chaotic, with swarms of mutated rats and infected humanoids wreaking havoc everywhere. Screams of fear and agony filled the air.
Although Tang Yan's mech and some reinforcements had arrived, the situation was still dire.
"Let's do this!" Su Ming said as he controlled his mech.
"Got it!" Ming Ke and Chen Tong responded in unison, spreading out to cover more ground.
Not far away, five female students were cornered against a dormitory wall by seven infected humanoids. The creatures bared their teeth, blackened blood dripping menacingly from their mouths.
"No, stay back!" cried a short-haired girl in strawberry bear pajamas, her face pale with terror.
But the infected paid no heed, growing more frenzied as they prepared to attack.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over them. The infected instinctively looked up.
Boom!
Su Ming piloted his mech, crashing down from above. Blood and gore splattered everywhere.
Four infected were crushed instantly, while the other three were sent flying.
In his haste to save the students, Su Ming had used the mech's thrusters for the first time and misjudged the force. This caused the mech to tilt uncontrollably, landing not on its feet but face-first into the ground.
The mech skidded across the ground, sparks flying as it slid dangerously close to the female students.
"Aah!" The five girls, still reeling from their near-death experience, now screamed in terror as the massive mech slid toward them like an unstoppable avalanche.
Inside the cockpit, Su Ming frantically pulled the control lever, forcing the mech's arms down to slow its momentum.
Screech!
The girls shut their eyes, bracing for the impact, but a few seconds passed without pain. Hesitantly, they opened their eyes to find the enormous mech stopped just 30 centimeters away.
"We're saved!" The short-haired girl burst into tears, overcome with relief.
Inside the cockpit, Su Ming wore a look of exasperation. Operating a real mech was far more challenging than he'd anticipated. To make matters worse, this particular training mech was old and sluggish, making precise movements difficult.
He had intended to land firmly on his feet but ended up face-planting instead, nearly crushing the very students he had come to save. Fortunately, the mishap didn't result in any casualties.
"Argh!"
The three surviving infected, furious from being flung away, charged at Su Ming with renewed aggression.
Su Ming quickly steadied the mech, stood it upright, and swung a massive
arm down.
Smash!
The three infected were instantly flattened, their black blood pooling on the ground.