Section 475: The Lone "1"
Fifteen mechs had already roared away, leaving the nearly ruined Baichuan Academy in the desolate silence of the night. The Red-Tailed Beasts' corpses had been taken away, leaving not a single trace behind.
"Looks like we'll have to find another way," Ye Zhong said helplessly, glancing down at the fragments of the neutrino repair device at his feet.
Shang suggested, "Leaf, you should spend more time on 'Macho Man.' That seems more realistic." The so-called "Macho Man" was the experimental mech Ye Zhong had obtained from the warehouse, labeled as a failed product. Shang had named it "Macho Man," claiming that once Macho Man appeared, the world would tremble. Ye Zhong saw no point in arguing over names—a meaningless endeavor in his view—so he didn't bother contesting it. Whatever name it was called made no difference to him.
"Yeah, I guess that's the only way," Ye Zhong nodded. This was indeed the most feasible plan at the moment.
The journey back to his residence was smooth and uneventful. Perhaps because he had rested during the day, Ye Zhong felt no signs of drowsiness. So, he headed to the mech training facility in the building.
The Research Division was undoubtedly wealthy and influential. Even in an ordinary branch building of a regular city, the facilities were luxuriously impressive. Take the mech training facility, for example. It not only had twice the space of a standard mech training area but was also equipped with numerous auxiliary instruments installed around the perimeter. These devices could capture every detail of the pilot's movements from all angles and transmit the data to the optical computer in the corner. Pilots could use this to analyze the correctness of their every move. Moreover, the training facility was richly equipped with various apparatuses, far exceeding the standard configuration.
Due to the late hour, the vast training facility was empty. This suited Ye Zhong just fine, as he disliked having others watch him during his training sessions.
Summoning Macho Man, Ye Zhong climbed into the mech and entered the cockpit.
Staring at the peculiar triangular main control panel, he took a deep breath and began to focus on his training.
Compared to other pilots, Ye Zhong wasn't particularly dependent on any specific model of mech. Since leaving the garbage planet, his mechs had changed repeatedly, one after another. Each time he switched mechs, he needed to familiarize himself with the new one, so he was quite accustomed to this process. The only thing that gave him a headache was this unusually configured main control panel, which had caused him no end of trouble.
There was another solution: replace the main control panel with a standard one. This would significantly reduce the time needed to familiarize himself with the mech. However, doing so would compromise the mech's combat capabilities—a compromise so significant that Ye Zhong couldn't ignore it. Thus, he dismissed this option.
Start from scratch!
Gazing at the triangular main control panel before him, Ye Zhong felt a fire burning in his heart. Since when had he ever feared challenges?
Without hesitation, Ye Zhong began to explore step by step, like a beginner. It felt like returning to the arduous training days on the garbage planet, filling his heart with a sense of fulfillment and anticipation.
In the empty training facility, a seemingly clumsy mech moved slowly and awkwardly, like a toddler learning to walk. Every action reflected the iron-willed determination of the pilot inside the cockpit.
How exhausting is five consecutive hours of high-intensity, high-concentration training?
Ye Zhong was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of water. He panted heavily, and his footsteps felt as if they were weighed down by lead.
Ye Zhong returned to his room and fell asleep immediately. Fifteen minutes after he returned, the other selected candidates began to wake up. In no time, the previously empty training facility was filled with mechs. Among them were observant individuals who counted the pilots present and noticed that No. 231 was missing. This disappointed several pilots who were interested in No. 231. However, they quickly set aside their curiosity and focused on their training.
After all, no matter the profession, reaching the top tier requires persistent and arduous training. Every pilot here understood this principle deeply, so no one dared to slack off at any moment.
Ye Zhong was awakened in the afternoon. According to the notice, he needed to report to the assembly point. When he arrived, he was the last one. Without expression, Ye Zhong took the last seat in the floating vehicle and remained silent.
As soon as he sat down, the floating vehicle started moving.
"Good afternoon, everyone. The place we are about to arrive at is the training base. From now on, your identities will be the official instructors of the first training class at the Research Division's Hainaxing Mingyincheng branch. First of all, congratulations on successfully passing the assessment! I am also honored to work with all of you." The speaker was a bald man whose shiny head, under the lights of the floating vehicle, resembled a large light bulb.
He chuckled and said, "I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Canda, Deputy to Mr. Powell, and I will be the person in charge of this event. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me at any time. Since this is our first time organizing such an event, please bear with us if there are any oversights."
Everyone looked at him, but no one spoke.
Canda didn't seem to mind and continued, "Since no one has any questions, let me explain today's arrangements. After arriving at the training base, we will proceed with grouping. Each of you will receive your group number. After that, the trainees will freely choose the group they wish to join. Of course, each group can have a maximum of twenty trainees. Once a group is full, it will automatically be removed from the available group numbers. Based on the number of trainees in this session," he raised his head, scanning the pilots present, then grinned and said, "there will be exactly twenty trainees per group."
As the bald man above滔滔不绝ed on, Ye Zhong couldn't muster any interest. His mind was entirely occupied with the triangular main control panel. At first, he had only found it peculiar, but during today's exploration, he began to sense a certain pattern in the key layout. The high-intensity training had prevented him from thinking calmly, but now, in a quiet state, he couldn't help but ponder this question.
When Ye Zhong was lost in thought, even thunder couldn't disturb him. He didn't hear a single word of Canda's impassioned speech.
It wasn't until the vehicle stopped that he was jolted out of his contemplation.
"Shang, what did he say just now?" Having missed Canda's speech, Ye Zhong followed the others into the training base in confusion and had to ask Shang.
"Don't bother me," Shang replied impatiently. "I'm busy." Then, he fell silent again.
Ye Zhong shrugged helplessly. Fortunately, he was at the back of the group, so no one noticed. Shang had been much quieter these past few days, likely aware that he had nearly caused trouble last time. He had been unusually silent lately, always claiming to be busy whenever Ye Zhong asked. Who knew what he was up to all day? Since he didn't want to talk about it, Ye Zhong couldn't get any answers.
Without Shang's antics, Ye Zhong found things much quieter.
The group entered a conference room where a large holographic screen displayed numbers from one to twenty-five in a row. Soon, each instructor was assigned a number. Ye Zhong received the last number: twenty-five.
Canda stood up and said, "Alright, everyone, you've all received your numbers. From now on, these numbers will be your group identifiers. Next, it's time for the trainees to choose their instructors." He then turned to a staff member and gave an order, signaling the start.
As the staff member issued the command, the numbers under each group on the holographic screen began to rise rapidly. Within twenty-five seconds, Group Five was full. The pilot holding this number smiled triumphantly. After all, the sooner a group filled up, the more it indicated the trainees' confidence in that instructor's strength.
The numbers for the other groups continued to climb, but only Group Twenty-five remained with a solitary "1" beneath it. This number didn't budge for a long time.
Three minutes passed, and only one group remained unfilled: Group Twenty-five, still with the number "1"!
All eyes in the conference room converged on Ye Zhong. Sitting in the last row, holding the last number, and still not having his group filled, Ye Zhong remained seated upright, his expression unchanged—cold and without a trace of embarrassment, calmly meeting everyone's gaze.
"This is terrible! I was too slow! Only Group Twenty-five is left. What should I do?" one trainee lamented, his face full of regret.
Another trainee gloated beside him, "Who told you to hesitate? I told you to hurry up. Now you're in trouble. Group Twenty-five—I heard he got in through connections. Otherwise, with his level, how could he have been selected? I'd never join his group, no matter what."
"If I'd known, I would've just picked any group randomly. It would've been better than this," the trainee who had chosen Group Twenty-five said, full of remorse.
Xiqing watched these people coldly without saying a word, then turned and left. He had chosen Group Twenty-five the moment the selection began—the first to do so. So far, he was the only one in Group Twenty-five. When White found out Xiqing had chosen Group Twenty-five, he thought Xiqing had gone mad. But Xiqing knew exactly what he was doing.
He quickly made his way to the assembly point for Group Twenty-five.
The atmosphere in the conference room was strangely tense. On the holographic screen, all groups except Group Twenty-five were full, with only the number "1" remaining under Group Twenty-five. Even though Group Twenty-five was the only option left, the number beneath it still refused to budge! The conference room fell into silence, but many wore mocking smiles, their gazes filled with disdain and scorn directed at Ye Zhong.
What did this mean? It meant that even when the trainees had no other choice, they still refused to select Group Twenty-five. In other words, no one believed in the capabilities of Group Twenty-five's instructor. Well, not entirely—everyone glanced at the "1" on the holographic screen—at least one person supported him!
In the last row, holding the last number, Ye Zhong remained seated upright, unmoved.