"Hi, who are you looking for?"

In the Sirius A sector, inside a somewhat deserted training room with the curtains tightly drawn, a guy in blue clothes sat cross-legged. In front of him, a neuro-link displayed a virtual screen, playing the latest news about mecha sports.

The room's lights came on, and another guy, dragging a suitcase, entered. Spotting someone inside, he paused momentarily: "Edward, you're here early?"

The guy with the suitcase was Arlen Bertie, formerly a mecha pilot for the K&D team.

During the transfer period a few days ago, his profile had already switched to the DE team.

Edward shifted his gaze from the neuro-link, spotting the suitcase, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to grab some stuff." Arlen walked straight to a machine in the training room. "Hmm, there's a training plan during the off-season, the coach asked me to head over early."

Edward, tone even: "You got your stuff?"

"Yeah." Arlen looked at Edward, bit his lip, and decided to be straightforward: "K&D won't be able to recruit a capable repairman. DE has a slot open for a guard mecha pilot, and their coach thinks highly of you. If you…"

"Arlen, you're not gone yet?"

The person entering, wearing a flashy jacket, was Nicholas Frances, a mecha pilot for the K&D team.

He was holding two takeaway boxes, raising an eyebrow upon seeing Arlen: "Catching up with Edward? Unlucky for you, I only bought breakfast for two."

Arlen's expression darkened at Nicholas's entrance: "It's nothing."

Nicholas didn't hold back, "Oh, sorry then, guess you'll have to stand aside and watch us eat."

Arlen's tone cooled, especially upon seeing Nicholas: " "With so many mechas damaged and the base staff running off, do you really think some idiot will come fix your mechas? Nicholas, you don't even have a mecha now, do you?"

Edward: "Arlen, what are you getting at?"

Arlen scoffed: "K&D's done for, stop wasting your effort. Maybe disbanding now would save some face." He gave Edward an extra look, then pulled his suitcase and walked away straight.

Seeing him leave, Edward wanted to follow, but Nicholas held him back: "What for? To see him off?"

Edward: "As if."

"Why bother with him? Even talking's a waste of saliva." Nicholas pulled out a breakfast from the takeaway box, seeing Edward still hesitating: "What are you waiting for? Got up early just to order this breakfast. If you don't want nutrient pills, better hurry up."

Edward, frustrated: "You scared you can't beat him?"

Nicholas scoffed, "Preposterous. I'm capable of handling eight."

Edward, teeth clenched, fumed: "All the good Pearl did for him wasted. Thought he was close to that guy just because they got along.Who would've imagined his defection to DE?"

"And your mecha, wasn't his fault it got damaged? Who's he to talk smack!"

K&D team's recent turmoil seemed to be a streak of bad luck. The previous year, management took many active pilots, resulting in a disastrous decision and investors withdrawing. As other managers scrambled for K&D's remnants, Pearl alone held up the crumbling base, reorganizing the team.

From a renowned mecha base to now a ragtag crew of a few.

Last year, K&D's performance declined, with pilots transferring out one after another. It was discovered that the former team medic and repairman had been selling K&D's mecha data, and Pearl had been struggling to resolve the data leak.

The data's buyer remained unknown, the transactions too cautious. There was no solid evidence, but this year's competition saw DE team's mecha pilots unveiling adjusted firearms eerily similar to the leaked core weapon data.

Arlen had been close to the disgraced medic, often seen together.

They hadn't thought much of it until Arlen's contract ended without renewal, and he transferred to DE.

Without evidence, Pearl couldn't act.

Breaking the silence, Nicholas spoke first, "What's the use of being mad? Fill up, and when we face DE in the arena, we'll hit them back. Why watch this show? Last time I saw that host, didn't seem serious. Just a repairman recruitment, and he's all sarcastic about us not trying hard. I'm so grateful."

Edward: "Exactly, where didn't we try? Pearl even paid for an ad."

Nicholas, puzzled: "Where?"

Edward pointed to the program's ad carousel above, "That one, rotates every half-hour. Pearl bought two days of it!"

"Damn!" Edward murmured, "Selling off the mecha stadium really did bring in a significant sum, even allowing us to afford advertisements now."

Just last week, their boss had sold the mecha stadium, making a hefty sum.

Suddenly, a visitor alert went off in the training room, startling the two who were focused on the advertisement.

"Why's someone ringing the bell?" Nicholas turned around, "Isn't anyone up front?"

Edward, mumbling: "Guess not."

Nicholas glanced at the monitor, barely catching sight of a suitcase and not even managing to see the face before heading out: "Damn, Arlen's got the nerve to come back? I'll check it out."

Edward: "Wait, I'm coming too."

The training room, located in the basement of the K&D building, had become their main base after the K&D building went up for lease. Today, the team's boss, Pearl Robinson, and coach, Corey Montgomery, were out, so the smart door's visitor alert was routed to the training room.

Nicholas, bristling with anger, reached the door only to be greeted by the sight of a suitcase.

"Ar—" His hostility nearly broke loose, abruptly stopping himself, "Who are you?"

The young man stood upright, his face obscured by a cap, the only visible item being a smart flyer in his hand. Nicholas recognized it; it was specially designed by their boss Pearl, all placed in the promotional rack in front of the K&D building. He noticed the flyer mentioned the sale of the K&D mecha stadium, "Looking to buy the mecha stadium? Sorry, it was sold last week."

The young man: "I'm not here for the stadium."

"Oh, so it's about leasing the building then?" Nicholas sneered, pointing elsewhere, "Contact info is over there."

The desolate entrance of the building was empty, a bright advertisement prominently displayed—[K&D Base Building for Lease, interested parties contact communication number jhk14581248 Pearl Robinson]

The young man looked at the sign, a slight pause in his expression.

Nicholas, seeing the man not moving, was about to probe further when he noticed the hand resting on the suitcase.

It was a mechanical hand. With the rapid development of medical technology in the Star Alliance, it was rare for anyone to use prosthetics due to illness, especially a prosthetic without skin grafting, exposing the mechanical shell, which was even more unusual.

"Why are you stopping at the door?" Edward squeezed past Nicholas, blinking at Merlin, puzzled, "Hi, who are you looking for?"

Merlin came back to his senses, shifting his gaze from the leasing information, politely saying, "Hello."

He then asked, seemingly to confirm: "Is this K&D Base? I'm here to apply for the repairman position."